Senior Year
by Brunette Beauty 1
Summary: "You're in Glee Club," Mr. Schue said, observing everyone's faces. "When you graduate, I don't want you to think of the slushees or the insults. I want you to leave McKinley with everything you learned here. From me, and from each other."
1. Calling Underclassmen

**Rated T for offensive language, mild sex themes, scattered violence, and drama. **

**I'll post author's notes at the end of every chapter.**

**. . . . . . . . . . . . . **

**Calling Underclassmen **

William Schuester walked through the halls of McKinley toward the classroom where he taught his prized Glee Club. His strawberry blond hair was gelled and curly, and he was handsome as ever. He wore a black pair of pants, shirt, vest, and tie. He knew that there was going to be a lot of drama since summer was over and he was back to face the cups of slushee that threatened his students every day. And of course, there was Sue Sylvester, the sardonic cheerleading coach that had it out for him since the day he volunteered to teach the club. And also, there was Emma Pillsbury, the adorable ginger-haired woman whom he longed to be with so badly. When Will was among his Glee students, none of the outside stress mattered.

"Welcome back, guys!" he said when he entered the room, and saw all of them together for the first time since the summer rolled around. In the very front was Rachel Berry, small and enthusiastic. The determined brunette was wearing a black knee-length skirt, white knee-length socks, Mary-Janes, and a brown knitted sweater with a unicorn on it. Beside her sat her boyfriend Finn Hudson, the tall football quarterback and not too far behind them: Finn's pretty blonde ex-girlfriend Quinn Fabray, wearing a pink dress and cardigan.

Also, there was Artie Abrams, who looked like he was wearing a new pair of glasses and the usual pale blue sweater vest. Brittany Pierce was sitting next to him. Her long, dirty-blonde hair was down, and she was wearing a dark blue blouse and a black pair of pants. A few rows behind her was Santana Lopez, who was wearing a fuzzy brown hat and an orange poncho. Blond boy-next-door Sam Evans was sitting beside Mercedes Jones, who was wearing a pink leather jacket. Tina, with dark eye makeup and dressed in a black sweater with a skull on it, sat beside her fit boyfriend Mike Chang. Noah "Puck" Puckerman was sporting his infamous Mohawk, and had his arm around McKinley former wrestling star Lauren Zizes. Brunet and blue-eyed Kurt Hummel was wearing a form-fitting white sweater that stopped at the knee and complimented his fair skin tone. He also wore a tight pair of skinny jeans, and his hair was combed neatly. A light violet scarf was wrapped around his neck, and on his feet were fashionable boots.

The students all welcomed Will back in response, and he felt like he was back at home. "How was everyone's summer?" he asked, and everyone spoke over each other. They were all saying something different. After Will let them talk for a few minutes, he said, "Since it is the beginning of a new year, let's brainstorm. What kind of material would you guys like to learn this year?"

"We should finally do some R&B," Mercedes volunteered.

"Country," Sam suggested.

"We took a long break from show tunes," Rachel pointed out. "I think it would be healthy to get back in to them."

"All great suggestions," Will said. "But since this is your senior year, we should have an overall theme. All of the music we learn should be similar in some way. It should all go together."

"Should we do songs about changing?" Santana asked.

"Saying good bye?" said Tina.

"Letting go?" said Finn.

"Let's write all of these suggestions down," Will said, grabbing a marker and keeping track of them all on the whiteboard. "Today we'll just brainstorm, and then tomorrow we'll come back and decide which one we want to work with."

So for the next ten thirty minutes, the students gave suggestions and discussed what kind of material they would like to learn during their senior year. Will noted every suggestion on a sheet of paper as well as on the white board so that he would be able to look over the choices when he went home that night.

When the class was over, Rachel and some of the other students said good bye to Will, and then he stood in the class for a few more minutes, gathering his things. As he did so, Sue Sylvester entered the room wearing her usual blue tracksuit.

"Hey, buddy," she said, crossing her arms. "So this is it."

Will rolled his eyes. "This is what, Sue?"

"This is the last year you'll be able to teach your orgy of depraved Glee Club kids," Sue reminded him. "Of course, you'll probably get a new batch next year… unless something happens so that McKinley doesn't have a Glee Club next year. But if I'm not so fortunate, you'll have a new gang of kids, and you're gonna miss your old ones."

Will sighed. "You're right, Sue. I'm going to miss this group very much when they go. But they're not gone yet. I still have another year with them. This is only the beginning of their senior year, and I plan to make it memorable for them."

Sue nodded. "I would be listening to what you were saying if I wasn't so distracted by the disgusting aroma coming from the top of your head. How many cheap bottles of hair gel have ya got in there, William? Smells like ya poured a whole bucket."

Will rolled his eyes again, and said, "Have a good day, Sue."

"You too, pal," she said when he walked by her out the door.

As Will walked down the hallway he thought about what Sue had said. She was right. Even though this was only the beginning of his student's senior year, he knew it was going to fly by too quickly. He didn't know what he was going to do when they left him. They weren't just students to him. They were family. Each and every one of them mattered to him, and they all had a beautiful story.

During his lunch break, Will went to a computer and typed up a sign-up sheet for students that wanted to audition for the Glee Club that year. "It's so weird, but I've always gotten kids in the same class," he told Emma Pillsbury. "All my kids are seniors. I want to get some underclassmen involved, you know. I don't want to lose everyone I have at the end of the year. I want to still have some students that I can look forward to having next year."

"I'm glad you've reinforced that point on there," said Emma, observing the sheet. "Freshman, sophomore, and junior auditions are encouraged. This is great, Will."

"Thanks, Emma," Will said gratefully. "I wanted to know if you approved before I hung it up in the hallway."

Emma blushed. "I'm… glad you care so much for my opinion."

"I think very highly of it," Will replied, and then he went back to the hallway and hung up the sign-up sheet. He saw that a bunch of girls and boys had already signed up for Cheerios try outs. Will sighed. It made him so sad that these high school students were too embarrassed to sign up for Glee because they were so worried about what other people thought about them. Even though no one had even seen the Glee signup sheet yet this year, he still knew that was the way it was going to be. That's the way it was the last two years. And Will couldn't blame the students that felt that way. If he was in their place right now, he would think just as they did. If only they could see what the students in Glee Club saw. He could only hope some people would sign up.

. . . . . . . . . . . .

"Fellow Glee Club members," Rachel said to the rest of the group while Mr. Schue was eating lunch. "It is day four of senior year, and not one person has signed up to audition for Glee except for Beavis and Butthead, who are both Sue Sylvester."

"Uh, there's one thing I don't understand," Mercedes interrupted. "Why do you care? You don't want anyone getting in on your turf and stealing your solos. I'd think you would be happy about this."

"What you said was very rude, Mercedes," Rachel said, crossing her arms. "I do want people to sign up for Glee. I know they won't be as good as me, so I have no worries. I know that they'll be able to back up my vocals."

Mercedes and Tina looked at each other and rolled their eyes.

"Rachel, if I may?" Kurt said, raising his hand. Rachel nodded, and Kurt stood up by the piano with her. "The best way to get people to sign up for Glee Club is to recruit. Find your friends from various classes and ask them to sign. They're far more liable to do so than random strangers we don't even know."

"What if we don't have any friends outside Glee?" Artie wanted to know.

"Some of us do," Puck said, standing up. "Don't worry about it, wheels. I've got enough friends to cover us both."

"You mean like a human blanket?" Brittany asked excitedly.

Puck looked at her for a moment, and then looked away at Rachel.

"Alright, I guess that's a good idea," Rachel said. "Those of us that have friends can start recruiting. And then once we've gone through our small group of alliances, start inviting on facebook, and if worst comes to worst, we could do another invitational."

"Those never go well," Artie muttered to Mike.

"All in favor, say ay," Rachel said, and everyone said ay.

"This meeting was kind of pointless, no offense," said Santana. "I mean, that was probably what we were gonna do anyway. It's kind of like common sense."

"Rachel called the meeting to hear herself talk," Mercedes remarked.

"Alright, since none of you appreciate my initiative, I'm asking you all to leave," Rachel said bitterly. "This meeting is now over."

"Finally," Quinn said loudly, and she left the room, glaring at Rachel.

Almost everyone left the room, except for Finn. He stood in the doorway and noticed that after she thought everyone was gone, Rachel sat down and started crying. Finn walked over to her, and said, "Hey, are you okay?"

"I don't know why everyone's so annoyed with me all the time," Rachel said dramatically. "I mean, I know I'm more talented than them, but I can't think of any other reason why they can't stand me. I only try to help them."

"They're all just jealous," Finn assured her, "especially Quinn. I like you. Everyone likes you. Just because you're irritating doesn't mean they hate you."

Rachel scowled at him. "Thanks, Finn."

"Wait," Finn told her when she grabbed her bag and started toward the door. "I know how I want to start off senior year. I want to do a duet with you."

"You wanna know something, Finn?" Rachel asked.

"What?" Finn said.

"I'm still waiting to wake up," Rachel began. "I just can't believe that someone as silly as me is lucky enough to be dating someone like you. Pinch me, Finn. I think I'm asleep."

"I feel the same way about you," Finn told her, and he grabbed her hand. Then he bent down, and she stood up on her toes. The two of them kissed on the lips. "I love you, Rachel."

"I love you too," Rachel replied. "So much."

. . . . . . . . . . . .

Will went over to the bulletin board the next day and saw that a few people had signed up for Glee Club auditions. The names included Bryce Dawkins, Riley Brown, Tristan Boone, Alyssa Moore, and Trey Jordan. He was so excited he had to tell the Glee Club.

"We may have five new members soon!" Everyone pretended like they were surprised, but they knew about the people that had signed up. "Auditions are going to be on Monday. I hope you're all excited. Have a great day, guys."

They were done for the day, and Will left the classroom. The students gathered.

"Alright, I'm going to start a system where I grant a gold star to anyone who has done a good deed for the club," Rachel said, pulling a sheet of stickers out of her pocket.

"Are we in first grade?" Kurt asked, making a face.

"Who recruited Bryce Dawkins?" Rachel ignored him.

"That would be me," Sam said, smiling. "He's a freshman. He's interested in trying out for the football team. While we were working out, I told him to join Glee Club. And he signed up, so I obviously convinced him. So I get a gold star."

"Whoo!" Artie said, applauding Sam as Rachel handed him a sticker.

"I found Riley Brown and Tristan Boone," said Brittany. "I flunked Spanish One sophomore and junior year, so I'm taking it again this year. And they're in my class. I told them I used to be a cheerleader and that I was too cool for it so I quit, so they became friends with me, and I told them to sign up for Glee Club. They kind of worship me. I would love to have a gold star. I want to put it on my forehead."

"Your wish has been granted," Rachel said, sticking the star on Brittany's forehead.

"I found Alyssa Moore," said Tina. "She's in my Creative Writing class. She told me she recognized me from Glee Club, and said she'd always wanted to join but was too shy to. I said that I would be friends with her, and now that she has a friend in Glee she decided to sign up."

"A gold star for Tina," Rachel said, handing her one.

"Trey Jordan's my boy," Puck said with a nod. "We were on the court playing basketball, and I asked him if he liked music. He rapped a Lil Wayne song. Sounded better than Weezy. I told him to sign up for Glee Club, and he did. Gimme that star."

Rachel gave him a sticker, and everyone applauded the recruiters.

"This is great," said Finn. "And Mr. Schue looked really happy."

"Alright, well, see you guys on Monday at auditions," Rachel said, and almost everyone left the room again. Except Finn.

"Are you sure you're not worried about the auditions?" he asked Rachel.

Rachel wore a twisted smile on her face. "Why should I be?"

"Because I remember what you did last year to Sunshine Corazon, and I don't think you're okay with all these new people coming in," Finn explained. "And I can't help but feel like you're up to something."

"I'm not up to anything, Finn," Rachel said, shaking her head. "But you are right in some respects. I am very nervous about these auditions. Sure; they don't sound promising. We've got two jocks, two preppy dumb girls, and one shrinking violet, but one of them could be good. And they might steal all my solos from me. I'm just pretending like I don't care because I want everyone to like me. I want everyone to stop hating me, and thinking I'm selfish. I don't want to graduate with everyone thinking I'm a bad person."

"You're not a bad person, Rachel," Finn assured her. "You just have a few flaws, but I really like them. I think they're hot. I just want you to be honest, and stop pretending to be something you're not."

"You don't know how hard it is for me," Rachel said. "I just want to be liked."

"We're in Glee Club," Finn snapped. "We're never going to be liked, but it doesn't matter. I would rather have my talent than friends, especially if I had your talent."

"Talent never mattered to you more than friends," Rachel said, studying him.

"Yeah, well, it does now," Finn said. "You inspired me, Rachel."

Rachel sighed. "Well, I'm sorry, but your inspiration has some different plans for herself this year. And when those underclassmen audition for Glee Club, they are going to think that I am the nicest, most likable person they've ever met."

She walked out the door, and left Finn standing there awkwardly.

. . . . . . . . . . . .

Monday came, and so did the auditions. Bryce Dawkins got up onstage and stepped to the front so that Mr. Schuester and everyone else could see him. Kurt Hummel stiffened in his seat, and his jaw dropped when he saw him. Bryce was a freshman, but he was developed. He had nice muscles, and dark hair, eyes, and eyebrows like Blaine. But instead of curly, his hair was in a ridiculous Caesar cut. If he let him, Kurt could transform Bryce from Warrior Chic to Warbler Fabulous in seconds flat. Kurt wasn't eighteen just yet, but he was practically a grown man, so it was kind of creepy for him to be looking at the underclassman this way. The only thing that made Kurt hesitant to hit on the boy was the fact that he was dating Blaine. It didn't matter that Bryce was probably straight.

Kurt sensed someone staring at him. He turned his head and saw that it was Finn. Finn was giving him a stern look that said, Don't even think about it.

Kurt rolled his eyes and waved Finn off like he was an insignificant fly.

"What are you gonna sing for us, Bryce?" Mr. Schue asked.

"I'm going to sing 'All The Right Moves' by One Republic," Bryce replied.

"Awesome. Take it away," said Mr. Schue. The band got ready.

Bryce began singing, _"They've got all the right friends in all the right places. So yeah, we're going down. They've got all the right moves and all the right faces. So yeah, we're going down. Let's paint the picture of a perfect place. They got it better than what anyone's told ya. I'll be the king of hearts, and you're the queen of spades. Then we'll fight for you like we were your soldiers. I know we got it good, but they got it made. And the grass is growing greener each day. I know things are looking up, but soon they'll take us down before anyone's mowing on me. They've got all the right friends in all the right places. So yeah, we're going down. They've got all the right moves and all the right faces. So yeah, we're going down. Everybody knows, everybody knows where we're going. Yeah, we're going down. Everybody knows, everybody knows where we're going. Yeah, we're going down. Doesn't matter what you see. I know I will never be someone who could look like you. It don't matter what you say. I know I could never fake someone that could sound like you. They've got all the right friends in all the right places. So yeah, we're going down. Everybody knows, everybody knows where we're going. Yeah, we're going down."_

When he was done, Brittany, Tina, Lauren, Mercedes, and Rachel all stood up clapping and screaming. They were obviously in love with Bryce now. Mike grabbed Tina's arm and made her sit back down. Kurt was finding it hard to breathe. He applauded exuberantly for the young freshman boy with the voice of an angel. Quinn was sitting in her seat, but she was no less enthusiastic for Bryce than anyone else was. She grinned at him, thinking that the first thing she was going to do once he was in Glee Club was flirt with him.

"Well done, Bryce!" Mr. Schue said, standing up and applauding him. "Wow, that was amazing! Welcome to Glee Club. Be at the classroom tomorrow after school."

"Thank you, sir," Bryce said. He waved one more time and left the auditorium.

"We're off to a great start!" Mr. Schue said enthusiastically. "Riley Brown."

And when the next teenager stepped onstage, Rachel went pale. This girl looked like she could have been Quinn Fabray in her freshman year. She had her honey blonde hair up in a high pony and the familiar Cheerios uniform. "Hello Riley, what will you be singing?"

"I will be singing 'Love Song'," Riley said confidently with her hands on her hips, and the band began playing. She began singing with attitude, _"Head underwater. And you tell me to breathe easy for a while. But breathing gets harder. Even I know that. Made room for minutes too soon to see if I'm happy in your hands. I'm usually hard to hold on to. Blank stares at blank pages. No easy way to say this. You mean well, but you make this hard on me. I'm not gonna write you a love song 'cause you ask for it, 'cause you need one. You see, I'm not gonna write you a love song 'cause you tell me it's make or break in this if you're on your way. I'm not gonna write you to stay. If all you have is needed, Imma need a better reason to write you a love song today. Promise me you'll leave the light on to help me see daylight, my light on. 'Cause I believe there's a way you can love me, because I say I won't write you a love song 'cause you ask for it, 'cause you need one. You see, I'm not gonna write you a love song 'cause you tell me it's make or break in this. Is that what you wanted? A love song! 'Cause you ask for it? 'Cause you need one? You see, I'm not gonna write you a love song 'cause you tell me it's make or break in this if you're on your way. I'm not gonna write you to stay. If your heart is nowhere in it, I don't want it for a minute. Babe, I'll walk the seven seas when I believe that there's a reason to write you a love song today."_

Everyone stood up and applauded for her. She rocked the number out of the park. Rachel was still sitting. Her jaw was dropped in terror. Who knew that a voice like that could have come out of a bony, blonde freshman? This was bad news. Riley looked pleased.

"Great job, Riley," Mr. Schuester said, smiling. "Welcome to Glee Club."

"Thank you, Will," Riley said. What nerve! She left the auditorium proudly.

Rachel ran up to Mr. Schue and grabbed his shoulder. "You saw she was wearing the Cheerios uniform! She doesn't want to be in Glee Club! She wants to destroy it!"

"I think you're being paranoid, Rachel," Mr. Schue said. "Riley can be on the cheerleading squad and in Glee Club if she wants to. Half the people that are already in the Glee Club were in both at some point. Tristan Boone."

"Here!" said a freshman girl with two-toned blonde/brown hair, skinny like a noodle.

"What do you want to sing, Tristan?" Mr. Schue asked.

"Um…" Tristan thought about this for a moment. She was obviously unprepared. "I wanna sing 'Dancing Crazy' by Miranda Cosgrove."

Mr. Schue looked like he didn't know who that was. "Okay. Good. Hit it."

_"I've got a feeling that it's gonna be alright. We don't know where we're going, and I don't know where I'm at. I'm kinda thinking I don't like nobody else. You know whatever happens, I will be right by your side. You, me, in the spotlight. We run around till the end of the night. Hot, hot, keep it coming. We can rock out till the early morning. You, me, going all night. We don't care who's wrong and who's right. Hot, hot, keep it coming. We can rock out till the early morning. Everybody's dancing, dancing crazy and we never stop. We never stop. Whoa! Everybody's raging, raging crazy, put your hands up. Put your hands up. Whoa! I like you and you like me. We get together and we're happy. Did you hear me say that? Did you hear me say that? SMACK! And I like the way that we kiss. You and me, together like this. Did you hear me say that? Did you hear me say that? SMACK! Whoa, oh, oh-oh. Everybody's dancing, dancing crazy and we never stop. We never stop. Whoa! Everybody's raging, raging crazy, put your hands up. Put your hands up. Whoa! Everybody's dancing, dancing crazy and we never stop. We never stop. Whoa! Everybody's raging, raging crazy, put your hands up. Put your hands up. Whoa! I like you and you like me. We get together and we're happy. Did you hear me say that? Did you hear me say that? SMACK! And I like the way that we kiss. You and me, together like this. Did you hear me say that? Did you hear me say that? SMACK!"_

Everyone applauded her. "She has the voice of a Disney channel star, but at least she can carry a tune," Mercedes mumbled to Kurt, and he started laughing.

"Welcome to Glee Club, Tristan," Mr. Schue told her. "Be back tomorrow."

"Here in the auditorium?" she asked.

"No, in the classroom," said Mr. Schue.

"Oh, okay. Yay!" She jumped off the stage and ran out of the auditorium excitedly.

"Did I mention she's a cheerleader too?" Brittany asked.

"Ugh!" Rachel groaned. She didn't see a uniform, so she hoped she wasn't.

"Wow, these kids are good," Will said, turning around to look at the current Glee Club members. "Alyssa Moore."

A tall, pale brunette with a basketball jersey and a ponytail stepped onstage.

"I know this girl. She's super weird and silent," Santana whispered to Lauren.

"Hello, Alyssa. What will you be singing?" Mr. Schue asked.

"Watch her not answer," Santana said with a smirk. Lauren laughed.

"I'll sing 'A Thousand Miles' by Vanessa Carlton," Alyssa said shyly.

"Wow, she spoke," Santana said, her eyes wide in shock.

Alyssa started out shaky, but was able to get it together after the first few lines of the song, _"Making my way downtown. Walking fast, faces pass and I'm homebound. Staring blankly ahead. Just making my way, making my way through the cro-o-owd. And I need you. And I miss you. And now I wonder. If I could fall into the sky, do you think time would pass me by? 'Cause you know I'd walk a thousand miles if I could just see you tonight. And I, I don't want to let you know I, I drown in your memory. I, I don't wanna let this go. I, I don't. Making my way downtown. Walking fast, faces pass and I'm homebound. Staring blankly ahead. Just making my way, making my way through the cro-o-owd. And I need you. And I miss you. And now I wonder. If I could fall into the sky, do you think time would pass us by? 'Cause you know I'd walk a thousand miles if I could just see you, ooh! Ooh! If I could fall into the sky, do you think time would pass us by? 'Cause you know I'd walk a thousand miles if I could just see you. If I could just hold you tonight." _

Everyone applauded her. "Wow, she could actually sing," said Santana.

Rachel was also a little worried about this one. She didn't have the confidence that Riley had, but if she were worked on a little bit she could gain it. Her vocals were on. This junior just needed the stage presence to back them up.

"Great job, Alyssa!" Mr. Schue said, clapping. "We'll see you tomorrow."

Alyssa gave a smile. Her face was bright red. She ran out of the auditorium.

"And for our last performer," said Mr. Schue. "Trey Jordan."

A black boy with a pair of glasses and a hoodie came on the stage. "Hello," he said confidently. "I'm going to be singing 'DJ's Got Us Falling In Love Again' by Usher."

"Of course he is," Santana chortled, and Mercedes glared at her.

Trey started singing, _"So we back in the club with our bodies rocking from side to side. Side, side to side. Thank God the week is done. I feel like a zombie coming back to life. Back, back to life. Hands up. Yeah, suddenly we all got our hands up. No control of my body. Ain't I seen you before? I think I remember those eyes, eyes, eyes. Eyes, eyes, eyes. 'Cause baby, tonight DJ got us falling in love again. Yeah baby, tonight DJ got us falling in love again. So dance, dance like it's the last, last night of your life, life. I'll getcha right. 'Cause baby, tonight DJ got us falling in love again. 'Cause baby, tonight DJ got us falling in love again. Yeah baby, tonight DJ got us falling in love. Falling in love! So dance, dance like it's the last, last night of your life, life. 'Cause baby, tonight DJ got us falling in love again. Yeah baby, tonight_ _DJ got us falling in love again. So dance, dance like it's the last, last night of your life, life. I'll getcha right. 'Cause baby, tonight DJ got us falling in love again."_

Everyone had already been up dancing as he was singing, so they were still up to give him a standing ovation. "Wow, I knew he could rap, but I didn't know he could sing. Whoa!" Puck said to Artie and Sam, and they cheered even louder.

"Wow, it looks like we've got a lot of great new talent, guys!" Mr. Schue said enthusiastically, looking at the current Glee Club. Then he turned to Trey. "Great way to end the auditions. See you tomorrow."

Trey nodded and left the auditorium.

Finn went over to Rachel. "Are you nervous?" he asked her.

"Yes," Rachel said, nodding. "I can't help but feel like those cheerleaders are spying on us for Coach Sylvester the way Quinn, Santana, and Brittany used to."

"You're worried because they're good," Finn corrected. "Especially Riley."

"Yes, Riley's great," Rachel sighed. "But so is Alyssa. I don't know what to do, Finn. I just know that they're going to get all the attention this year."

"Not from me," Finn assured her. "You're all I can think about."

"You say that now, but it'll change once you get to know Riley," said Rachel.

"What are you talking about?" Finn laughed. "She's a freshman. I'm not interested in freshmen."

"But she's just like Quinn, and you dated Quinn," Rachel pointed out.

"I dumped Quinn because I care about you," Finn reminded her.

"Riley's younger, newer, and prettier than me. You and she will be together soon enough. You watch." Rachel brushed past him as she left the auditorium.

. . . . . . . . . . . .

Santana remembered that when she was a super cool sophomore cheerleader and Alyssa was a scared little freshman, she thought she was really weird and silent. But now she was beginning to get the feeling like they played for the same team. It made sense, didn't it? Alyssa often wore sports jerseys and spoke with a voice deeper than most girl's voices. She wasn't very feminine, and she was currently staring off into the direction where Rachel and Kurt were sitting as Mr. Schue was talking to the club the next day. Kurt was a girly gay boy, so she was obviously staring at Rachel. Alyssa wasn't adorable like Brittany. She was attractive enough -

Once you got past the fact that she was paler than Edward Cullen, and had the personality of a blank sheet of paper. Santana needed to find a way to be sure without making it obvious that she herself was a lesbian. She had it. After Mr. Schue let them go, Santana followed Alyssa to her locker and put on her most intimidating face. She crossed her arms.

"I hope you don't think I don't know that you're a dyke," she said ruthlessly.

"What?" Alyssa said in surprise.

"I saw you staring at Yentyl in Glee Club today," Santana accused her.

"Listen," Alyssa said, closing her locker. "If I was at any point looking at Rachel, then it would be because I was tired and dozing off. I hardly get any sleep. I don't know what I'm looking at half the time." Santana made a confused facial expression. Alyssa continued, "And I do like someone in Glee Club, but he's a boy. I like guys. I'm straight."

She walked away right past Santana, who shook her head. "Damn." True love was just never meant to find Santana Lopez. Just then a burly boy with a red leather jacket and a beret walked by her.

"Hey Santana, you aren't wearing your Bully Whips uniform," he said.

"Put a lid on it, Karofsky," she groaned, catching up and walking with him.

"Did you just ask your boyfriend to put a lid on it?" Karofsky mocked her.

"You're only my beard. You're not actually you're my boyfriend," Santana reminded him. "And I'm dumping your ass soon. You won prom king, and I wasn't prom queen."

"Good. I'm sick of wearing this stupid costume," Karofsky muttered.

"You think you have it tough," Santana said under her breath.

"Who was that girl you were talking to?" Karofsky asked curiously.

"Alyssa Moore. One of the latest additions to Glee Club," Santana explained.

"Think I used to bully her," said Karofsky. "Does she play for our team?"

"Nope," Santana sighed. "She's straight. She likes a boy in Glee Club."

"Wonder who the lucky man is," Karofsky chuckled.

"Come on. I thought you were gay, Karofsky. Don't go all straight on me."

"I'm just playing the part," he whispered when someone walked past.

"Wow, you're such a good actor, aren't you?" Santana said sarcastically.

"I don't even know if I am gay," Karofsky hissed at her.

"Stop denying, rainbow," Santana scoffed. "You're gay as May. And I know who you like. It's so obvious. You couldn't stop staring at Kurt on prom night."

"Shut up," Karofsky muttered.

"I've got a sixth sense, Dave," Santana told him. "I can sense everything that's going on, and when you were elected king and he was coroneted for queen, you were sweating like a dog. I watched you go down onto the floor with him, and I watched you cry when you ran away. I watched you cry when Blaine started dancing with him."

"Stop," Karofsky snapped. "You may think you know everything, but you obviously don't. You thought that girl was a lesbian, and she's not. You're wrong about me and Kurt."

"No, I wasn't positive about Alyssa, but I'm positive about you!" Santana said.

"If you say one more word about me being gay or liking Kurt or whatever, I'm dumping your ass now and going back to bullying," Karofsky threatened, removing his beret. He gave her a death glare, turned around, and stormed away. He punched a locker on his way, and it didn't even damage his fist. Santana's eyes widened. Was he made of iron?

. . . . . . . . . . . .

Finn approached Kurt at his locker. "I saw you staring at Bryce again."

"You're imagining things," Kurt laughed.

"You had this creepy look on your face. That one you get every time you want to flirt with a straight guy. Like you're gonna lure him into some kind of trap."

"So because I'm a gay senior and he's a straight freshman, I'm a pedophile?" Kurt asked. Before Finn could answer, Kurt said, "Relax, Frankenteen. I have a loved one. I couldn't be less interested in a little freshman. I'm in love with Blaine Anderson."

"But you've been together for a while now," Finn pointed out. "You're probably going to get bored of each other sooner or later, like I got bored of Quinn."

"I would never become bored of Blaine," Kurt argued. "He's the love of my life. And he and I have got some plans for tonight."

"Another date?" Finn asked.

"No, actually," said Kurt, and he took a deep breath. "Blaine and I are having sex."

"Really?" Finn said in surprise. "For how long has this been going on?"

"We're going to start tonight, Finn!" Kurt hissed.

"Wait, I thought you weren't ready," Finn reminded him.

"Blaine's been waiting long enough," Kurt sighed. "And I've thought about it, and I'm willing to do it now. I'm not thirteen anymore. I'm practically a grown man. I want Blaine to be my first, and I want my first time to be tonight."

"Does your dad know about this?" Finn asked curiously.

"I don't think it's any of his business," Kurt snapped. "We're getting a motel room."

"How will you explain your random disappearance?" Finn wanted to know.

"I'll tell him I'm going to sleep over at Mercedes' house," Kurt replied.

"What if something goes wrong?" Finn asked. "What you and Blaine have is so special. What if it destroys your relationship?"

"How can a little sex hurt a relationship?" Kurt laughed. "You've had sex before!"

"Yeah, with some girl I don't even care about," Finn referred to Santana. "But I don't want you jumping into this before you're really ready."

"Sex will only bring Blaine and I closer," Kurt declared.

"Fine, just don't make a mistake, Kurt," Finn sighed.

"Why are you so worried about me?" Kurt wanted to know.

"Because you're my brother and I care about you," said Finn.

"Well, I'm going to be okay," Kurt assured him with a smile.

"Good," Finn said, smiling back. "And Blaine's okay with this?"

Kurt grinned. "He said he couldn't wait."

"Okay, then, I guess you two do what… two guys do best," Finn said awkwardly, and then he walked away. Kurt waited until he was gone to get out his cell phone and send a text message to Blaine.

**Kurt: U wanna do it? **

** Blaine: What?**

**Kurt: I told Finn that u and I are gonna do it tonite, and he thinks u already know about it. So I'm asking if you wanna do it?**

** Blaine: Are you sure you're ready?**

** Kurt: I'm ready if u r. **

** Blaine: I've been waiting for this. **

** Kurt: I take that as a yes?**

** Blaine: HELL yeah! ;)**

** . . . . . . . . . . . .**

Quinn approached Bryce at his locker right after Glee had let out.

"Hi," she said in a sweet tone with a smile on her face.

"Oh, hi," he replied, smiling back at her. "You're Quinn, right? Before I auditioned, Sam told me about you. He said you were hot like Harley Quinn." Quinn made a face. "From Batman…" Bryce lowered his voice in embarrassment.

"Anyway," said Quinn. "I think you have an amazing singing voice. Better than any of the other guys in Glee Club, which is why I want to sing a duet with you."

Bryce looked flattered. "Cool," he said, nodding.

"Yes, and by the way," Quinn said. "I think it's really hot that you made the football team."

"Thanks," Bryce said. "I've been playing football for a while now."

"Football players are the hottest guys," Quinn went on. As they walked through the hall, once they passed Lauren and Puck. Lauren stared in awe at Bryce as he passed, and Puck grabbed her shoulder and turned her away so that she couldn't stare at him. Quinn and Bryce talked for a long time. Bryce may have been developed for a freshman, but he had the voice of a young teenager, which Quinn found to be very cute. They flirted with each other, and then came to the end of the hall.

"I'll see you tomorrow," Quinn said, winking at him and leaving.

"Bye," Bryce said, and he waited until she was gone. "Yes!"

. . . . . . . . . . . .

"So what do you think of Glee Club?" Sue asked Riley and Tristan.

"The group of kids is weirder than I thought it would be," said Riley.

"See, I knew I wasn't the only one who thought so," Sue said. "And you remember our plan, right? When I tell you, you're going to quit Glee Club and disappoint Mr. Schue. But that's only two members; not much of a loss. So you need to snatch up that other girl. Junior. Runs in fear every time she sees me. What's her name?"

"Alyssa Moore," said Riley.

"Yeah, that girl," said Sue, nodding. "Girls like her never become cheerleaders. But she's about to. When she finds out, she'll be so happy that she'll run out of Glee Club like the wind. William Schuester will become so pissed… I love this idea. I'm such a genius."

. . . . . . . . . . . . .

**Author's Note:** It's been a while since I've written fanfiction. School and Drama Club took over my life, and there are a few stories I haven't been able to finish writing. I'll attempt to continue with them at some point. This fic is based on some ideas of what I think might happen during season three of "Glee." And yes, there are a bunch of OC's but they aren't going to be main characters, and they aren't supposed to be Mary-Sues or Gary-Stus or whatever. They're merely place-holders for the characters that might be introduced in the next season, since I know there will be a few new people joining Glee Club. I've already written the first seven chapters for this fanfic, and I've tried to explore all the character's lives, but it's going to be embarrassingly obvious who my favorite character is because I've written more about him than any of the others. He's everyone's favorite, for the most part. Kurt, yes. Couldn't help myself. Yes, the next chapter has a sex scene between him and Blaine, but it's so mild compared to other hot ones I've read on fanfiction. I'm somewhat of a yaoi fangirl, and I couldn't help but include something about their physical relationship. I'm just letting those of you who may not like that kind of thing that it's mild, but if you're a fan of GLEE, you probably don't mind anyway. Please review, and let me know what you might like to see in this story's future chapters, if anything at all. I'm glad that it's summer so I have time to write again. Yay! I'll try to update weekly.


	2. Desire

**Rated T for offensive language, mild sex themes and non-graphic sex scenes, scattered violence, and drama. **

**I'll post author's notes at the end of every chapter.**

**. . . . . . . . . . . . . **

**Desire**

"Okay," Kurt exhaled, sorting anxiously through his luggage while sitting on the motel bed with nothing but a bathrobe on. Blaine chuckled.

"Why'd you pack a whole suitcase for a night at a motel?" he was curious to know.

"For just in case I have a mini heart attack and decide to run away if it's all too traumatic," Kurt said nervously. Blaine was lying in bed without any clothes on; his toned arms and chest hair were seen above the covers.

"You're the cutest thing I've ever seen," he said with a kind smile.

Kurt blushed and turned to him. "I think I'm almost ready." He stood up, and Blaine looked up at Kurt expectantly, his hazel eyes filled with anticipation. He did not hurry Kurt, but he was impatient. Kurt took a few more breaths, and then stripped himself of his velvet bathrobe. His pale, hairless chest, arms, stomach, and legs were exposed to Blaine. The only thing he had on to cover himself was a thong. But the thong was so small that it left very little to Blaine's imagination. Kurt bent over, lifted the covers, and crawled into the bed beside Blaine. Blaine rolled onto his side and pulled Kurt closer to him. Their chests touched.

Blaine held Kurt around his shoulders, and Kurt held Blaine around his waist.

Within the next few minutes, Blaine pulled Kurt's thong off of him and they got closer than Kurt imagined he could get with another person. Kurt breathed unevenly, arousing Blaine. He began kissing his neck passionately. Kurt moaned with fervor. He took Blaine's face in his hands and kissed his lips softly. Blaine stuck his tongue into his mouth, causing Kurt to moan some more. Blaine then licked Kurt's cheek. He tasted like a delicious dessert.

Kurt rolled onto his stomach so that his backside was exposed to Blaine. Blaine climbed on top of him, and then let him have it. As he did so, he steamily kissed the back of his neck, causing every hair on Kurt's body to rise. He felt chills all over. Both of them were sweating with desire. That motel room was very hot indeed. Kurt knew that Blaine currently had all the control over him, so he decided to turn the tables, and moaned and gasped seductively.

Blaine became dizzy. He sighed and said, "You drive me crazy, Kurt."

"I know, honey," Kurt breathed, and he tackled Blaine so that he was now underneath him. Kurt entered Blaine's behind, and stroked the back of his neck with his fingers. Blaine was breathing unevenly and shuddering. After a while, they were both on their backs again, and Blaine kissed Kurt. Kurt twirled Blaine's dark curly locks around his fingers.

Blaine got on top of Kurt and wrapped his legs around his waist. Kurt craned his neck and kissed Blaine's collarbone. "Oh," Blaine moaned. "You blow my mind, Kurt…"

Kurt smirked and continued to get it on with his boyfriend. All night long they engaged in wet, hot, strenuous lovemaking. What the boys did not know was that they were being watched by David Karofsky. The curtains were not closed, and through a pair of binoculars Dave could see it all. He watched bitterly as the lovely Kurt rocked the world of that stupid little hobbit, and wished that he could take Blaine's place. He watched as Blaine kissed Kurt all over his body passionately, and as Kurt held onto Blaine lovingly.

_"__Oh, yeah, every straight guy's nightmare that all of us gays are secretly out to molest and convert you. Well, guess what, ham hock? You're not my type!__Yeah, I don't dig on chubby boys who sweat too much and are going to be bald by the time they're thirty__."_

Those words stung Dave. They stung him every time he remembered them. Getting Kurt Hummel in bed just was never gonna happen. Dave clenched his fists and glared at Blaine. He was so charismatic, good-looking, and heroic. It just made Dave so mad that the boy he loved - Kurt - was so shallow. It. Hurt. So. Bad. Dave cursed loudly, shoved the pair of binoculars inside his football jacket, and stormed off. He kicked a lamppost on his way.

. . . . . . . . . . . .

Dating Sam Evans made Mercedes Jones feel the way that Artie probably felt when he first started dating Brittany: unreal. All her life Mercedes had been an outsider, struggling with her weight. So how the hell did she land a super hot, sweet, blond football player? She asked that question every night before she went to sleep, but she also thanked the Lord for giving him to her. The stars were obviously on her side. She knew that for sure.

After two years of having been in love with her best friend Kurt Hummel, it was refreshing to finally be with a man who could reciprocate her feelings. Her brief "romance" with Puck didn't count. Sam was her first actual boyfriend.

The two of them were currently at the movie theater. Mercedes paid; Sam was very poor, so Mercedes knew it was only right that she was the one that paid for almost everything they did. Sam was worth it, though. Damn, he was worth every last cent. Before they left for their date, Mercedes gave Kurt a call, asking him what she should wear. He told her to wear something cute: jeans, sandals, and a white tank under a black jacket. She'd curled her hair. Sam was wearing a brown jacket and ordinary pair of jeans. His soft blond hair was all messy.

"I really enjoyed our date tonight, Sam," Mercedes said shyly, still holding the large bag of popcorn after the movie was over. They walked into the lobby and stopped. Sam smiled.

"Does anyone know we're dating?" he asked.

"Just Kurt," Mercedes replied. "He's my best friend. He made me tell him."

Sam laughed. "Anyone besides Kurt?"

Mercedes shook her head. "No, not that I know of. Why?"

"I wanna be exclusive," Sam said, taking her hand. "That's why, when I get back online, I want to make it facebook official."

"Aww, Sam," Mercedes said_. I'm so lucky,_ she thought to herself.

"What do you wanna do now?" Sam asked her.

"I kinda want a hotdog," Mercedes said, eyeing the counter where they were being sold.

"Be right back. I'm gonna get one for you," Sam told her.

"Okay, here's a few dollars," Mercedes said, reaching for her pocket to get out her wallet. Sam held his hand up, gesturing for her to leave it there.

"I'll pay," he told her.

"No Sam, you don't have to do that -" Mercedes assured him.

"I want to," Sam said with a wink. His girlfriend smiled in admiration at him, and he walked over to the counter. He took every last coin out of his pocket to pay for the hotdog with. Mercedes sighed, and then she imagined herself singing:

_"Sunday morning at the door. You were coming back for more. We were kicking it all around (oh yeah!). I was looking in your eyes. You thought it was justified. You said m-m-m-mor-or-or-ore!"_ Then Sam came back over to her with a hotdog in his hand and a smile on his face. _"Oh! Don't stop, don't change, stay beautiful! One life today; you're irresistible. Get up, get out, stay wonderful. All this time is waiting for you. Don't stop, don't change, stay beautiful!"_ Then she and Sam walked out of the movie theater, and into Lima City.

As they continued to walk together, Mercedes continued to imagine herself singing to him, _"Poison kisses in the rain. You were calling out my name. Laughing like the joke was on me (always on me). Singing Ba da da, ba da da, ba da da. Ba ba ba ba ba ba ba da! Oh! Don't stop, don't change, stay beautiful! One life today; it's undeniable. Get up, get out, stay wonderful. All this time is waiting for you. Don't stop, don't change, stay beautiful! Ba da da, ba da da, ba da da. Ba ba ba ba ba ba ba da! Oh! Don't stop, don't change, stay beautiful! One life today: you're irresistible (oh yeah!). Get up, get out, stay wonderful. All this time is waiting for you. Don't stop, don't change, stay wonderful! Oh! Won't lie today: you're irresistible. Get up, get out, stay wonderful. All this time is waiting for you. Don't stop, don't change, stay beautiful (beautiful!)! One life today: you're irresistible (irresistible! irresistible!) Get up, get out, stay wonderful. All this time is waiting for you. All this time is waiting for you!" _

"Mercedes," Sam said, and he stopped walking. Mercedes came back to reality from her imagination.

"Yes, Sam?" she said.

The beautiful boy bent down and kissed her lips. The action took Mercedes by surprise, but she felt so amazed. This was her first-ever kiss. Suddenly the sky was filled with fireworks. When Sam stepped back from her, he took a deep breath and waited for her to say something.

"Sam?" Mercedes finally said after a long pause.

"Yeah?" he said.

"I feel like I'm dreaming," Mercedes said pitifully. "Am I gonna wake up?"

Sam laughed kindly. "No. This is real," he promised her.

. . . . . . . . . . . .

"Can I put my hand on your leg?" Puck asked Lauren while they sat on her living room couch, watching _The Hangover_.

"If you want it to get bitten off, go for it," was all Lauren said in response. She didn't take her eyes off the TV screen as she ate from her bowl of popcorn.

"C'mon, Zizes," Puck groaned, shaking his head. "I've been patient. Look, with most girls I probably would'a left by now. But I've been a gentleman toward you for months. In return, don't I get something?"

"Yes, you get to admire me every day," Lauren replied.

"When are ya gonna put out for me?" Puck wanted to know.

"When I feel like it," Lauren snapped at him. She sniffed. "Maybe when you take a shower. You smell like crap."

Puck smelled his arm and made a face. "Yikes."

"And, boy, you haven't waited all that long," Lauren said, finally turning to face him. "First of all, I respect myself, and I'm not gonna just put me out for you. So if you want this, you best give me time. Hear what I'm sayin', foo?"

A grin spread on Puck's face. "God, I love you."

"That's your misfortune," Lauren scoffed, turning away from him.

. . . . . . . . . . . .

Mike and Tina were eating together at Breadstix. "Mmm! I love these things!" Tina said, eating one of the breadsticks.

"They're no dim sum," Mike chuckled quietly.

"Come on, Mike," Tina laughed. "These breadsticks are just as good as dim sum. Listen to yourself. You're such a stereotype. Haven't you ever wanted to ditch the image?"

"You mean, you're not proud to be an Asian?" Mike asked.

"No, it's not that at all," Tina assured him. "I'm very proud to be Asian. I just think that sometimes our being Asian is all we ever talk about."

"You might have a point," Mike agreed after a moment of considering it. "But it's not like we only have Asian friends. We're the only Asians in Glee Club, and we're friends with everyone in there. Artie used to be your best friend, and now Alyssa is. They're white. When Matt was here, he was my best friend, and he was black. I hang out with Trey now, and he's also black. We're not superior or anything."

Tina laughed. "You're so funny."

"I love you," Mike told her, and Tina nodded.

"I love you too," she told him.

"You're the first person I've ever loved," Mike went on.

"You're the first person I've ever loved too," Tina told him.

"So," Mike said, looking satisfied, "you never loved Artie?"

Tina thought about it for a moment. "Well, I liked him, but I never loved him. Or at least, I don't think… no. No. I never loved Artie. I just kinda liked him."

"Sweet, then you're my first love and I'm yours," Mike said happily.

"Yeah," Tina said, and then she thought about Artie some more. She remembered that when she dated him, they talked about a lot more than just the fact that Tina was Asian. He'd seen her as being so much more than that. "Right…"

. . . . . . . . . . . .

Santana tried not to let herself get too upset when she was over at Brittany's house. She was glad to be with Brittany, but she was not so glad that Artie was there too. Brittany and Artie were baking something, and Brittany kept getting the ingredients all over Artie's face and licking them off with her tongue. The two of them were laughing like morons. Santana shook her head in annoyance and stood back with her arms crossed. This was very irritating.

"Come on, Santana," Brittany insisted. "Your face would taste sweet with flour on it."

"Thanks, but no thanks," Santana said. "I'm more of a sour type."

Every time Santana spoke, Artie looked down at the tile floor awkwardly. He found it extremely awkward that Santana had to be there while he was fooling around with his girlfriend. He didn't know why she had to be there all the time. It made things feel very uncomfortable for him. He just knew that sooner or later Brittany would ask for a threesome, and hot as it was, Artie didn't want to have to share his girlfriend with another girl. He remembered that when he dated Tina, he never had to worry about anything like that.

"You guys are really no fun," Brittany said to both Artie and Santana, but she still wore a good-natured smile on her face. "You're not even looking at each other. But me: I'm the life of the party. Whoo! I'm the only one speaking to both of you."

"What am I supposed to say to her?" Artie asked, looking bitterly at Santana.

"And when I look out, I can't even see him," Santana said spitefully. "His chair isn't tall enough for me to see at eyelevel."

Artie scowled. Santana wasn't mean, but even she wouldn't have it in her to make a gibe at a crippled kid in a wheel chair if she wasn't so jealous that he was dating the obvious love of her life. Brittany was too stupid to know that the two of them felt extremely uncomfortable being in the same room together, especially when she was also in it. But the last time Artie had told her she was stupid… Brittany had broken up with him. He was amazed that she actually decided to get back with him afterward.

"Guess when she's not in school, she doesn't have to be all anti-bully, huh?" Artie asked, careful not to speak as though Santana was actually there. "Speaking of anti-bully, where's her boyfriend Karofsky?"

"In his bedroom, jerking off," Santana said bluntly.

"That's gross," Brittany groaned. Artie also made a face.

"Hey, he's male, isn't he?" Santana pointed out. "It's kind of his nature. It's gross, but that's what guys do."

Artie smirked. "Then I guess you do it, Santana."

She narrowed her eyes at him. "Watch it, four-eyes."

It was obvious what Santana and Artie were trying to do, but things that were usually considered obvious weren't obvious to Brittany. She was slower than the average seventeen-year-old girl. Santana was trying to convince Brittany that guys were nasty, and that girls were better. Artie was trying to point out Santana's lesbianism, and embarrass her in front of Brittany. None of them were successful; they seemed to forget who they were talking about. Subtleties and implications weren't going to be make sense to Brittany S. Pierce.

. . . . . . . . . . . .

**Quinn: I wanna see u. **

** Bryce: U do?**

** Quinn: I'm finally single. ? Do u say? **

** Bryce: That's great. U wanna go on a d8? **

** Quinn: How about next Friday? Breadstix? **

** Bryce: Sounds great. C u school. **

** Quinn: U 2. ;)**

Quinn closed her phone and sat contently on her living room couch. She wasn't going to be lonely anymore. She was finally going to have a boyfriend again, and Finn Hudson was going to be sorry. She couldn't wait until Finn saw her and Bryce together. He would surely become jealous to see her with a younger, hotter man… wouldn't he?

. . . . . . . . . . . .

One day while the kids in Glee were waiting for Mr. Schue, Sam was reading _The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King. _Mercedes was sitting in between him and Kurt, who was whispering to her about how in love with Blaine he was. Rachel was sitting with Finn at the front of the room. Quinn was sitting with Bryce. Artie was sitting with Brittany and Santana. Trey was sitting with Puck and Lauren. Alyssa was sitting with Tina and Mike. Riley and Tristan were sitting together. Riley was staring at Sam with a smirk on her face. She remembered what Coach Sylvester told her to do: destroy every member of the Glee Club, one by one.

"Hey, I think it would be appropriate for you to buy a copy of that book in Braille."

Sam looked up at her. "Excuse me? I'm not blind."

"Oops, my mistake. I kind of assumed you were." Riley looked right at Mercedes.

Kurt's jaw dropped. Everyone in the room stopped talking. All eyes were on Riley. And at that moment, everyone hated her. Even Santana thought she'd gone way too far. Mercedes could only hear the sound of her own heartbeat. She'd never felt so insulted in all her life. What right did this girl have to humiliate her in front of her boyfriend? She already knew it was crazy for him to be dating her, but for this girl to have the nerve to rub it in like that!

"That was really mean, Riley," Tristan said, frowning. Even she was disgusted.

At any other time Mercedes would have jumped up from her seat, and shouted, "Ah, HELL to the NO!" but this wasn't one of those times. This was just too much for her to take.

She got up from her seat and ran out the door in tears. She was too miserable to hide her pain from Riley, who just sat there with a wide grin.

"What the hell's your problem?" Puck barked at Riley.

"I think that was a rather Fabraic thing to say!" Rachel added.

Quinn scoffed. "I don't know what Fabray you're talking about. I'm more appalled at what was just said than any of you are." She stood up from her seat and turned to Riley. "I think you're the blind one, new girl. Mercedes is beautiful."

She left the room, glaring back at Riley, and then at Rachel. Rachel felt embarrassed.

Riley, however, didn't. She looked over at Alyssa. "Hey, Lyssa," she said. "Congrats."

"On what?" Alyssa asked, surprised that this horrible girl would talk to her.

"Making the cheerleading squad, of course," Riley said with a Stepford smile that reminded Rachel of a freshman and sophomore Quinn Fabray.

Tina made a face at Alyssa. "You're on the cheerleading squad?"

Alyssa laughed. "No. I never tried out for the cheerleading squad -"

"Coach Sylvester saw you and decided she wants you to be a Cheerio," Riley interrupted. "She thinks you have great potential."

"Wait," said Finn, turning around. "Nah. That sounds fishy." He shook his head. "If it's Sue Sylvester, then there's some kind of catch. I don't like this."

"What? You don't think Alyssa's Cheerio material?" Riley challenged him.

"No, it's not that," Finn stumbled. "But this is Sue Sylvester!"

"If I see Sue, I'll talk to her," Alyssa said quietly. She felt kind of uncomfortable having everyone stare at her. "I'll see if she sounds serious about me being a Cheerio. And if she does, I'll join. If she doesn't, I won't."

"I don't think you should fall for it," Finn persisted, and Kurt raised an eyebrow.

"Whatever, Finn. It's not really any of our business," Rachel hissed at her boyfriend.

"I don't really think you should join the Cheerios either, Alyssa," Tina piped in. "We already have two of them, and one's a real bitch. We don't need you to become like her." She glared at Riley, who only smiled back at her.

"Hey, guys. What's up?" Mr. Schue asked, sounding like he was in a good mood when he entered the classroom. Then he made a face. "Where's Quinn and Mercedes?"

"Riley said something bitchy, and Mercedes left. Quinn followed her," Tina explained.

Mr. Schue frowned at Riley. "What'd you say?"

The preppy freshman only shrugged in response. "I didn't say one word."

"That's a lie," Sam said, glaring at her. She winked flirtatiously in response at him, but he only continued to scowl at her. "I didn't really understand what she meant when she said it, but now I'm beginning to get the feeling like she was saying I was blind for dating Mercedes."

Mr. Schue looked outraged. "How could you say something like that?"

"It was a harmless joke," Riley said, shrugging her shoulders again.

"No, I don't think so," Mr. Schue disagreed. "I don't know how Sue Sylvester's trained you, but in Glee Club we don't talk like that."

"Gawd, I'm sorry. What more do you want from me?" Riley asked defensively, throwing her hands up in the air.

"For someone to put duct tape over your mouth," Puck muttered. He'd come a long way since the beginning of his sophomore year when it came to caring about his friends.

"May I do the honors?" Kurt asked sharply, staring coldly at the freshman girl.

"And now Alyssa's considering becoming one of her," Artie said, frowning.

"Yeah, she's a traitor," Santana said bitterly.

"What?" Mr. Schue said in confusion.

"Coach Sylvester wants Alyssa on the Cheerios," Finn explained.

"And she thinks she'll accept the offer," Artie added. Alyssa looked down awkwardly.

"I may have made a mistake," Mr. Schue said quietly, beginning to regret having held auditions for new students to be a part of Glee Club. He didn't really mind the idea of having the same group from the year before anymore. These new kids were throwing off the dynamic.

. . . . . . . . . . . .

After Mercedes ran out of the classroom in hysterics, she went to her locker. Her heart felt too heavy for her to keep running all the way to the girl's restroom. She broke down crying more than she'd ever cried in her life. Why was this random new girl so mean? No one had offended her so much. Quinn caught up with her. She touched her shoulder.

"Mercedes," she said in a comforting tone. Mercedes pulled out of her grasp.

"What do you want?" she spat. "You haven't spoken to me in a year."

Quinn sighed. "I suppose that after I got rid of the baby, I became self-centered Quinn Fabray again. I forgot who my real friends were. Mercedes, you should not listen to what that horrible witch says. You're so pretty. You're so much prettier than her."

"Yeah, right. She's a skinny little blonde. She'll take Sam from me," Mercedes said.

"Sam isn't shallow," Quinn assured her, "even if he did date me last year."

Mercedes scoffed. "I already know that it's amazing he's actually going out with me. She didn't have to remind me."

"It's amazing that you're going out with him," Quinn pointed out. "He's a lucky guy, Mercedes. You're one of the prettiest, most talented girls in Glee Club. You're sweet, and you have an amazing personality. Riley said what she said because she's jealous."

"Yeah, she's jealous 'cause she wants my man," Mercedes mumbled.

"She's jealous because she knows she'll never have your man," Quinn told her.

"I don't know," Mercedes said, shaking her head.

"What? You think I wasn't a bitch to Rachel when I was jealous of her for dating Finn?" Quinn asked. "I was mean because I knew he liked her better than me. I knew that, even though he also dated me, he would never think as highly of me as he thinks of her. But Riley won't even get Sam to date her, so she's really screwed. There's no competing with you, Mercedes."

"You're just saying all that to make me feel better," Mercedes sniffed sadly.

"I mean every word of it," Quinn said kindly.

Then the guidance counselor Emma Pillsbury walked by. "Hey, girls," she said sweetly.

"Miss Pillsbury," Quinn said to her before she walked away. "Can we talk to you? Mercedes needs a little guidance."

Then Miss Pillsbury noticed the look of sadness on Mercedes' face. "Of course."

Quinn and Mercedes followed her to her office, where they waited as she quickly cleaned the chairs they would sit in off with a couple of wipes.

"Have a seat," she told them afterwards, sitting down herself, and putting on some hand sanitizer. "So… what do you girls wanna talk about?"

"There's a girl in Glee Club who's telling my boyfriend he's blind for dating me, and it's obviously because I'm fat," Mercedes said, sounding depressed.

"I told her it's because Riley's jealous that she has such a hot boyfriend," Quinn said.

"Well, that's exactly right," Miss Pillsbury said, nodding at Quinn. "Mercedes, you're a very pretty girl, and Sam loves you exactly the way you are. This girl Riley is jealous of you, or else she's just trying to hurt your feelings because Sue Sylvester told her to do so. What about Will - Mr. Schuester? Does he know about this?"

"No, I don't think so," Quinn said, shaking her head, but then Will entered the office.

He sighed with relief. "Thank goodness," he said. "This was where I hoped I would find you," he told Mercedes and Quinn. "I'm so sorry. Did you tell Miss Pillsbury yet?"

"Yes, they told me," Emma said, nodding at him.

"Good," said Will. "Girls, you can go back to class. I sent Riley to Figgins for the afternoon… after Santana offered for she and Karofsky to give her a good Bully Whips-whipping." Emma made a face, and Will continued, "She won't bother you again."

"Thank you, Mr. Schue," Quinn said when she and Mercedes got up and left.

"What did you tell them?" Will asked Emma. "Did you give them advice?"

"Well, I told them that I think Sue Sylvester's behind it," Emma replied.

"Of course she is," Will groaned. "You wanna know what else Sue did? She offered for Alyssa Moore to be a Cheerio."

Emma's eyes became bigger than Will thought was possible for them to get. "Alyssa Moore - you mean, Alyssa Moore, the really quiet girl?"

"Yes, her," Will said. "The girl who asked me if it was okay if she didn't perform again after her audition for the group until she was emotionally ready. Sue's up to something."

"Paranoid again, buddy?" Sue's voice came out of nowhere. Both Will and Emma were startled. Sue stood there in the doorway. "'Think I've got some kinda trick up my sleeve? You think I don't recognize a star when I see one? You think I'm duping Alyson?"

"Alyssa," both Will and Emma corrected her.

"Whatever," Sue said in response. "I want you to take a moment and think about what you're accusing me of. 'Think I want to have some loser on my squad to mess with you? No, that wouldn't be worth it. I only let winners on my squad; no matter how much fun it would be, to mess with you by having someone lame. This Alyssa girl's perfect for the squad."

"Sue, you're up to something. I know it," Will shouted after her as she left the office. Will exchanged an annoyed look with Emma, and then he ran after Sue. "Sue. Sue!"

Sue turned around in the middle of the hall, and let Will catch up with her. "I want you to get your Cheerios out of my club!"

"Which ones? The ex-ones: Fabray, sand-bags, and Brittany? Or the current ones?"

"The current ones, obviously," Will snapped. "Listen Sue, I know you like to invade Glee with your little spies and bullies. I've had it up to here, and I will not allow anyone to destroy my kids. These two girls do not have their hearts in this club like my other kids do."

"You're gonna discriminate against them because they like me," Sue declared. "I thought your little club was all about acceptance."

"Have your kids accept my kids, and maybe I'll accept them-" Will began.

"What about the new football players?" Sue cut him off. "The Jonas Brother and the other kid?"

"The new boys care a lot more about New Directions than the new girls do," Will told her. "Tristan couldn't care less about music, and Riley wants to hurt people."

"Oh, so it doesn't have anything to do with the fact that the boys are Beiste's kids?" Sue challenged. She went on before he could protest, "Listen, Will. My girls don't want to sabotage your little Glee Club. They told me they're quitting it. It's boring them, and they're tired of it. Seeya, buddy." She turned around and started off. "Oh, and by the way," she said over her shoulder. "Since you're so rude, I'm going to tell that misfit Alyssa to drop Glee for cheerleading. I was originally going to be nice enough and let her do both."

Will surrender-sighed. "Is there anything I can do to get you to still let her do both?"

"No," Sue replied, but then she stopped walking and turned around. She covered her eyes with a pair of dark sunglasses. "Actually, there is. Meet me at Breadstix tonight."

"For a date? No!" Will refused.

"No? Well, then say good bye to your shrinking violet," Sue chuckled.

Will sighed again. "Fine. I'll go out with you."

"I think I'll have you know I'm married, Will," Sue said with a snide grin.

"What?" Will said in confusion. "To who?"

"The only person in this world good enough for Sue Sylvester. One Sue Sylvester."

Will scoffed and rolled his eyes when Sue lifted her hand to show him her wedding ring. "Then why are you asking me to go out with you?"

"Every marriage needs an affair or two," Sue said with a shrug. "You know that. You cheated on your wife before you divorced her… with that ditzy redhead."

"I wasn't cheating on Terri while I was married to her," Will defended himself. "And are you sure…. Gosh, I can't believe I'm actually asking this….. Are you sure you won't mind if you cheat on yourself with me?"

Sue smiled. "My domestic partner would do the same thing. And she literally is."

Will stared at her like she was insane for a moment, turned around, and walked away.

. . . . . . . . . . . .

Alyssa stood in the gymnasium's doorframe, watching the Cheerios practice. She paid extra close attention as they did back flips and somersaults up in the air. She was able to do cartwheels and round-offs, but she would have to teach herself to do everything else if she really wanted to be a Cheerio. Coach Sylvester would tell her to figure out a way to do it right.

"Hey," Finn said, coming up beside her. Alyssa gasped shyly, and looked down at her feet after having glanced up at him. She tucked her hair behind her ear.

"Hi," she said, turning a bright red.

"You shouldn't join, you know," Finn told her. "Coach Sylvester doesn't want you on the squad because you'd like to be on it. She's trying to mess with Glee Club by taking away all of our new members. You would hurt yourself, Alyssa."

"What? Am I not physically fit?" Alyssa asked nervously.

"No, it's not that," Finn assured her. "But look how she tortures them. She would torture you even more since you're in Glee. She'd probably make you do something dangerous, like shooting you out of a cannon. She wanted to do that to Brittany last year. You're fragile enough as it is. Being a Cheerio would kill you."

Alyssa looked right into Finn's eyes then, for the first time being assertive.

"I appreciate the fact that you're looking out for me," she said firmly. "But this is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. I've never been a cheerleader before, and if I become one I'll finally be popular. I'm tired of standing in the shadows. I was so shy I didn't join Glee Club in freshman or sophomore year, even when I wanted to. But I'm not so shy anymore, and I want to be part of the in-crowd."

Finn scoffed. "Not so shy? The only person you talk to is Tina."

"Well, I'm not as shy as I used to be," said Alyssa.

"Then you used to be so shy it was painful," Finn decided. "But you'll get slushies tossed in your face whether you're a Cheerio or not, because you're in Glee Club. Look, I respect that you're standing up for yourself and making your own decisions. I know that's really hard for super quiet people. But it's going to be even harder when Coach Sylvester gives you a hard time. She's trying to trick you, Alyssa. I may be dumb, but I'm not stupid enough to fall for anything she says."

"I am," Alyssa said quietly, and then she walked off into the hall.

Finn just stood there for a moment, listening to the urgent footsteps that obviously belonged to his girlfriend. He winced, feeling unsure of how she would take to his giving-advice-to-a-female-fellow-Glee-Club-member. "Finn," Rachel snapped, coming up beside him. "What were you talking to Alyssa about just now?"

"I'm trying to convince her not to become a cheerleader," Finn replied.

"That's all you talked about?" she wanted to make sure.

"Yes!" Finn promised. "You don't have to be so paranoid, Rachel. I only love you. I don't even know Alyssa, really. I'm just trying to warn her about being a Cheerio because I know that she would hate it once she tried it."

Rachel's expression became softer then. "Well, if that's your reason, that's very sweet."

"Really?" Finn asked in surprise.

"Yes," Rachel said with a smile. "You're a very sweet guy, Finn, whether you know it or not. You're very sensitive. I'm so lucky to be with someone like this." She stood up on her toes and gave him a passionate kiss on the lips. The kiss aroused Finn.

"He probably wouldn't want me to tell you, but Kurt had sex with Blaine," he said.

"Nah," Rachel said, shaking her head. "Kurt wouldn't. He was gonna wait -"

"He changed his mind for some reason," Finn interrupted. "And I thought… since he changed his mind… maybe… I supposed you would change your mind, too…?"

"About having sex?" Rachel said, and she shook her head. "No, Finn, I've told you already that I want to wait. Kurt may be romantic, but he's still a guy. It was more likely for him to give into his animal instincts."

"I thought you said girls want sex just as much as guys do," Finn reminded her.

"Yes, we do," Rachel said, nodding. "But that doesn't mean we wanna put out before we're ready. Just give me time, Finn. I promise you that by the end of senior year, we'll have done it. But it's only still early in the semester. You're going to continue to wait for me, right?"

"Yes, of course. I would never hurry you. I love you," Finn assured her.

"I love you too. So much," Rachel said, and she kissed him again. "You're the best."

She gave him one last smile, and skipped off happily the way she always did after having a conversation with him. Finn sighed. He loved Rachel, and would wait for her as long as she needed him to, but he hadn't had sex in a while. He just wished she'd put out sooner.

. . . . . . . . . . . . .

**Author's Note:** **I understand that Mercedes may have been a little out of character, and I apologize for that. I think she would have really smacked Riley in the face and told her she didn't know what she was talking about, but I wrote this a while ago. I really enjoy the scenes with Mike Chang in them, especially because I had the fortune of meeting the actor who portrays him (Harry Shum Jr.) in New York a few weeks ago! I envy everyone who gets to see Glee Live; that would probably be the most amazing concert ever. The next chapter is going to contain another sex scene, but again, it isn't very graphic and is probably less graphic than the one in this chapter. I'm not used to writing sex scenes, so I'll have to keep practicing, I guess. I considered including the lyrics to "Mr. Brightside" by the Killers in this chapter during the scene where Karofsky was watching Kurt and Blaine, but changed my mind. By the way, I am a total Klaine fan. I'm not a huge fan of Kurtofsky, but I thought I should include a little bit of it in this story. **


	3. Negotiations

**Rated T for offensive language, mild sex themes, scattered violence, and drama. **

**I'll post author's notes at the end of every chapter.**

***Alyssa is somewhat inspired by Marissa from the Glee Project.***

**. . . . . . . . . . . . . **

**Negotiations **

"Ah, Will. I'm glad you actually showed," Sue said, wearing her usual tracksuit and a beaded necklace. "Last time you promised a date at Breadstix you stood me up."

"Yeah, well, I'm not in the mood to have you yell at me in my apartment again," Will said, wearing a long-sleeved white shirt and a black pair of pants. He sat down opposite Sue. "I think it's a good thing that Riley and Tristan have quit Glee Club. I just didn't see the passion in them that I see in Quinn, Santana, and Brittany. Has Alyssa said anything to you?"

"Who?" Sue said, taking a sip from her drink.

Will scoffed. "The girl from my Glee Club who you want to be on your Cheerios."

"No, she hasn't said anything to me," Sue explained. "She cowers in fear every time she sees me. But I have a feeling she's gonna accept my offer. I mean, who would choose Glee Club over the Cheerios?"

Will looked enraged. "You're still gonna let her do both, aren't you?"

"Of course, Will, but once she's a Cheerio she's gonna decide she's too cool to stay in your little club," Sue pointed out. "Wouldn't you, if you were her?"

"I got it," Will said, coming to a conclusion. "I've finally figured it out. I know why you want Alyssa on the Cheerios."

"Amuse me," Sue challenged him.

"Because Riley and Tristan have quit Glee, you don't have eyes on the inside," Will told her. "And you want to make sure it's not like that."

"Wow, Will, you're even thicker than I thought," Sue said in amazement. "Must be all that product in your hair; it's not allowing your brain cells to function right. That's not at all why I want this girl on my squad. I've already told you why I'm giving her this offer she can't refuse. I see star potential in her."

"Listen," Will said quietly. "You and I both know that's not why you're doing this. After her audition, she told me she didn't want to perform again for a while. She's painfully shy, and you're trying to set her up for destruction. Her or me: I can't tell which."

"Stop being so paranoid, Will."

"I don't trust you, Sue. I'm going to tell Alyssa not to join the Cheerios."

"Will, Will, Will, I promised you that if Alana joins my Cheerios I would let her stay in Glee Club. We already negotiated. You wanna go back on the negotiation? You're the only one who sounds untrustworthy here."

Will groaned and rolled his eyes. "Fine, I won't tell her not to do Cheerios."

"Do you trust me now?" Sue asked.

"Not a hundred percent," Will said honestly.

"Okay, let's go," Sue said, standing up from the booth.

"Wait, what? We haven't even ordered food yet," Will said in confusion.

"What does it matter? The food sucks here anyway," Sue pointed out. "It's time to ditch this joint, and move on to more important matters."

Will became uncomfortable. "What 'more important matters' are you referring to?"

"This is a date, isn't it, William?" Sue reminded him. "Shouldn't we be doing something a little bit more romantic?"

Will scoffed. "Look, Sue. I did what you asked me. You asked me to come here, and I did. That's all I agreed to." He stood up and started off. "I'm going back to my apartment."

"Last one there's a rotten egg," Sue said, walking faster than him towards the door.

"No, Sue!" Will snapped, following her into the parking lot. "You are sick."

"Look, Will," said Sue, crossing her arms. "I know you've got some kind of weird fetish for stale bread that looks like something else. But you don't have to be sad we're not gonna chill here. We're gonna chill at your place, where I will introduce you to a few of my fetishes."

"What?" Will said, making a face. "What are you talking - oh! No! Not gonna happen."

"You want me to let that creepy girl stay in Glee Club if she becomes a Cheerio?" Sue said. "Then you better accept."

"Take Alyssa," Will said, lifting his hands in a surrendering gesture. "I don't care anymore. I don't need a kid who thinks being a Cheerio is better than being in Glee Club. But I am not going to do anything with you." He started toward his car.

"Wait," Sue stopped him. "I'm glad you made that decision. I don't actually want to sleep in your bed. I can't help but feel like you've got some kind of bathroom facility on your pillow for your butt-chin. But I won't break my promise. Alyssa can stay in Glee Club. All I want you to do is kiss me."

"On the lips?"

"On the lips."

"Sue, the last time you asked me to do that, you changed your mind."

"I won't change my mind this time," Sue assured him. Will felt like he was going to fall into a trap. One kid out of Glee Club wasn't so much of a loss. But for some reason he wanted Alyssa to stay. He, like Sue Sylvester claimed, saw potential in her, and wanted to bring her out of her shell. Will wouldn't sleep with Sue, but he would kiss her if it meant keeping Alyssa.

"Fine," he said unhappily, and before Sue could change her mind, he kissed her lips. It wasn't fun for Will, but it was for Sue. However, when they stopped, she wiped her lips.

"That was freaking disgusting," she said, playing it cool.

Will shook his head. "I don't know what to tell you, Sue." He went to his car.

"I'm gonna need to wash my mouth out with detergent now!" Sue called after him as she went over to her own car.

. . . . . . . . . . . .

"Kurt, I need you," Tina said, approaching him at his locker.

"Hmm, sounds urgent," he replied.

"It is," Tina insisted. "Alyssa talked to Sue Sylvester. She told her she's almost a hundred percent sure she's gonna join the Cheerios. There's only one thing that can be done to make her change her mind, and that's making her feel good enough about herself so that she doesn't need to become a cheerleader."

"How am I going to do that?" Kurt wanted to know.

"Give her a new look. You're great at that," Tina pleaded.

Kurt's eyes widened. "How will I know where to begin? Alyssa's style of dress is very butch. If you saw she and I walking down the hall together, you could swear she was my boyfriend. If I'm going to make her pretty, then I'm gonna need, like, ten people to help me."

"I don't know if I can help. I'm not a genius like you are," Tina pointed out.

Kurt smiled. "You flatter me."

"So you'll do it, right?" Tina asked hopefully.

"Why not? I like a good challenge," Kurt replied, and he placed a hand on Tina's shoulder. "I might be able to give you a new look too, if you'd like."

"I like the way I look," Tina said, making a face.

"I love the way you look," he agreed. "But Homecoming's only a few weeks away, and has Mike asked you yet?"

"No. I guess he just assumes I know we're going together," she decided.

"Just come to Studio Hummel for a few hours, and Mike will ask you on bended knee repeatedly, just to make absolutely certain he's already proposed ten times."

Tina smiled. "You're awesome, Kurt." She gave him a hug that he returned. Alyssa passed by. "Oh, there she is. Ugh. She's wearing an oversized gray sweatshirt."

Kurt observed her. "You're gonna have to wish me luck. I'll need it."

"Alyssa," Tina called to her friend. Alyssa closed her locker and looked up. When she saw Kurt, her pale face turned bright red. She gulped and came over, nervously tugging on her ponytail. She smiled at Tina, and tried to pretend that Kurt wasn't right there.

"Hi," she said quietly.

"Kurt wants to give you a new look," Tina informed her.

"He does?" Alyssa said shyly, then looking at him. She became even redder.

"Yeah," Kurt said with a friendly smile. "We can go to the mall this afternoon. I'll be able to help you pick out some new outfits. I have a sixth sense when it comes to helping people choose clothes. I just know if something will work or not. You're in good hands."

"You really want to go shopping with me?" Alyssa asked, her eyelashes fluttering.

"Yes," Kurt chuckled. "Why wouldn't I?"

"Oh, no reason." Alyssa waved the question away. "Forget I asked."

Kurt looked at Tina to help make the situation less awkward, so Tina said, "I'll go with you guys. The bell just rang."

"Hold on a sec," Kurt said, taking his phone out of his pocket. "I'm gonna text Blaine real quick, and let him know that I won't be able to meet him at Starbucks. I have lunch with him every day after school. I don't want him to get there and be waiting for me."

After he sent the text message, they went to the senior parking lot and got into Kurt's car. Tina sat in the front beside him, and Alyssa sat in the back. She called her mom and told her that she was going to the mall with some friends from Glee Club. They arrived at the mall, and went right away to Forever 21. Kurt practically glided through the aisles. He took a bunch of different garments off the racks and hastily tossed them at Tina to collect. He was choosing every feminine outfit he could find. Before they'd started, he'd asked Alyssa to approach him.

He'd wanted to observe her so that he could decide what colors and shapes would look best on her. Once he found about seventeen items, he sent her to a fitting room, and took the items from Tina one at a time, throwing each over the door for Alyssa to try on.

"We should buy this. How much is the shirt and the skirt?" he asked when he finally found a match he liked.

"Together they're a hundred and forty dollars," Tina said, remembering what she'd read on the tags seven minutes prior. Then she looked at her wallet. Only fifty dollars. Kurt only had seventy-two. "How much do you have, Alyssa?" Tina asked.

"I only have two dollars," Alyssa said embarrassedly. "I don't carry a lot of money."

"Well, that's just great," Kurt said in irritation. "If we don't even have enough to afford one shirt and a skirt, how are we going to buy all these other outfits I've picked out for you?"

"I do happen to possess a card for GAP," Alyssa said. Kurt nodded.

"Good. Tina, let's start putting these outfits back where we found them. We're gonna head over to GAP." So that's what they did. They placed the various pieces of apparel back in their original spots, and then crossed the mall over to the other store.

"I still think you should buy something a little flirty," Kurt told Alyssa.

"Um… Kurt," Tina said in a nervous tone of voice.

"Yeah?" he replied.

"Isn't that Blaine?" Tina asked, and Kurt looked in the direction of where she was pointing. Yeah, it was Blaine. He was standing at the counter, talking to a familiar man in his middle twenties with a mop of curly blond hair on top of his head - a man Kurt despised very much: Jeremiah. What was Jeremiah doing working at GAP? He'd lost his job months ago!

Tina touched Kurt's arm. "Maybe we should go…"

"No," Kurt said firmly; the adrenaline kicked in. He started over to the counter.

"Hey Blaine, funny seeing you here." He wore a sarcastic smile on his face.

"Oh my gosh, Kurt!" Blaine gasped. "I didn't know you'd be shopping."

"So you didn't get my text?" Kurt asked in surprise.

"No, my phone powered down. It's charging as we speak," Blaine explained. "I just came here to congratulate Jeremiah on getting his job back. His old boss got fired, and the new one decided to hire him."

Jeremiah said, "'This that annoying friend of yours I met in February, Blaine?"

Kurt's eyes widened. "I'm his boyfriend. I'm dating him."

"So you're not single, Blaine?" Jeremiah said, sounding a little angry.

"You didn't tell him you had a boyfriend?" Kurt asked Blaine in disgust.

"I had no idea Jeremiah was interested," Blaine assured him. "I didn't come here to flirt with him. Like I said, I only came to congratulate him and wish him luck in his life."

"Uh huh," said Kurt, glaring at Jeremiah, who only glared back at him. "I don't know why he's so disappointed then. After all, wasn't _he_ the one that rejected you when he lost his job in the first place?"

"I thought you finally turned eighteen," Jeremiah said quietly to Blaine.

"Not yet," Blaine said uncomfortably. "I apologize, Jeremiah, if I made you think I was interested in dating you. I'm sorry I led you on. I only came to wish you the best. I've gotta go now. I need to talk to my boyfriend."

"You're damn right you do," Kurt said when Blaine took his arm, and they walked off.

Tina and Alyssa just stood a few feet away, staring at them. "What are you doing here, Kurt?" Blaine wanted to know.

"I'm helping a girl shop," Kurt replied. "I sent you a text letting you know that I wasn't gonna be at Starbucks. You obviously didn't care enough tell me you weren't going to show up either. I didn't think I would find you here, flirting with some other guy."

"I already told you, Kurt, I only came here to help him," Blaine promised. "Jeremiah's been asking advice for the past few weeks, and now that he's finally achieved his goal, I want to give him emotional support. I'm trying to be a friend to him. Just because he's gay and I'm gay doesn't mean that we're seeing each other. I can have other gay friends."

"You didn't tell him you had a boyfriend," Kurt said quietly, his eyes tearing up.

"I didn't think he would care," Blaine said, placing a hand on his boyfriend's shoulder. "Hey, don't worry about me. I would never cheat on you. I love you… so much."

"You said you loved him in February," Kurt reminded him, sniffling.

"I didn't know what love was back then," Blaine chuckled. "Not until you stole my heart. I would never do anything to hurt you. Don't you believe me?" Kurt looked down, and Blaine hugged him. "If only you could look inside of me, and see how much I love you."

Kurt then wiped a tear away and smiled. "I believe you. I'm sorry I doubted you."

"Hate to intrude, but you guys are okay, right?" Tina wanted to make sure. She and Alyssa had come up to them.

"Yeah, we're okay," Blaine said, rubbing Kurt's shoulder with his hand. "Hi."

"Hi," Alyssa said, staring at him a bit too long. Blaine thought it was a little awkward, but he smiled politely anyway.

"Alyssa's chosen a few outfits, Kurt," said Tina. "She's going to the fitting room to try them on. You gonna come and check them out?"

"Yeah, I'll be right there," Kurt said, and Alyssa and Tina started off.

Blaine chuckled and gave his boyfriend another hug. "I love you so much. I could say it fifty times, and I still wouldn't feel satisfied. You complete me."

"You complete me," Kurt said, touching him tenderly.

"You're my hero, Kurt."

Kurt sighed in admiration. "I want us to spend more time together."

"How about tonight?" Blaine asked eagerly.

"I don't think tonight will work, unfortunately," Kurt said, rolling his eyes. "Tina wants me to give Alyssa a makeover."

"Well, you guys have fun. I'll see you tomorrow." He gave him one more hug, and then left the store. Kurt felt Jeremiah's eyes on him, so he turned and the two of them had a brief glaring contest. Tina and Alyssa went to Jeremiah when they bought the clothes, and then they and Kurt headed back to his car. He drove back to his house, where he would make Alyssa up.

Alyssa sat in the chair in front of Kurt's makeup mirror. He held her face as he applied foundation to it. Then he began with her eye shadow. He knew which colors to use, since she was obviously a winter. She was currently wearing a cute, clingy outfit she'd bought from GAP. Tina just sat on a nearby counter, watching as Kurt worked his magic. The door opened, and in came Kurt's dad Burt with a bag of groceries.

"Hey, Kurt, how are you doing?" he asked, and then he saw Tina and Alyssa.

"Fine. Just giving someone a makeover," his son replied.

"Her name's Alyssa," Tina introduced her.

"Hi," Burt said politely.

"Hi," Alyssa replied with a brief smile.

Kurt held Alyssa's face firmly. "Keep still. I need to make this perfect."

"Well, I'll see you soon, Kurt," his dad said, starting away. "Finn will be here soon. He's hanging out with his girlfriend Rachel."

"Better him than me," Kurt muttered, and Tina chuckled.

"I thought you liked Rachel," Burt said, having overheard.

"I'm starting to like her, I guess," Kurt decided. "A lot more than I used to."

"Alright, well, I'll see you," Burt said, and he left the room.

Alyssa was sitting there with her eyes closed. She looked like she was savoring every moment she had in this chair. Kurt went on to the liner, mascara, and lipstick.

Tina left after her parents called her and told her they wanted her home. Kurt smiled with satisfaction once he'd finished making Alyssa over. She was prettier than he thought she could look, reinforcing the point that he was practically a professional at his.

"Voila, look at you," he told Alyssa, and she opened her eyes. She looked into the mirror and gasped happily. She looked amazed.

"Thank you so much, Kurt. You really are good at this," she swooned.

"I told you that you were in good hands," Kurt chuckled, standing behind her and observing his masterpiece's reflection.

After another moment, Alyssa sighed. "Kurt, there's something I have to tell you… I really like you." Kurt opened his mouth to speak, but instead let it just hang open slightly. He wanted to tell her the truth, but wasn't quite sure how to break it gently. He was surprised she didn't already know. Alyssa laughed. "No, don't worry. I know you're gay."

Kurt let out the breath he'd been holding, and chuckled. "That's a relief."

"And I know you're taken. You and your boyfriend are both stunningly gorgeous. You're very lucky to have each other."

"Yes we are. Thank you," Kurt said, tensing after she called his boyfriend gorgeous.

"Can I tell you something else?" Alyssa asked, and Kurt nodded. "I've wanted to be in Glee Club since my freshman year. You guys were sophomores, and I saw you perform the Push It number in the gym. It looked like so much fun - and you were really hot, by the way. I'll always remember how sexy you were. And I would see you all the time. I saw you and the other people from Glee around campus, and I wanted to join so badly. I wanted to join when I was a sophomore too. Last year. I was so afraid. I'm terrified of standing out, Kurt. And I'm still afraid, but I finally got up there and auditioned this year, so I'm obviously making some progress. Especially because I just told you how I feel about you."

"May I be blunt, Alyssa?" Kurt asked, and Alyssa looked nervous. "The reason you didn't join Glee Club the last two years is the same reason you developed a crush on me. You didn't join Glee because you were afraid of rejection. And that's why you like me. You know that because I'm gay, you can like me and I'll never reject you. You know you don't have a chance with me, so your heart is in no danger of breaking. It's safe. You should try to go for someone straight. You never know. You may be shy, but you actually look halfway presentable now that I've prettied you up."

Hope flickered in Alyssa's eyes. "Really?"

"Really," Kurt said with a nod. "There will be other guys, Alyssa. Trust me. I thought I would never find someone, and then Blaine came into my life. Come here." He stood up and opened his arms, gesturing for her to give him a hug. She hugged him eagerly, and held him for a long time. She wanted so badly to kiss him, but she knew that was out of the question. Kurt was the first to end the hug. "Seeya 'round, kid," he chuckled, placing a hand on her shoulder. Alyssa smiled, and left the room. She was happy that she looked prettier. She wished that Kurt was able to make her up every morning before she went to school.

. . . . . . . . . . . .

After school, Kurt went to Starbucks to meet Blaine. His beautiful boyfriend was already sitting at a table, looking up at him with a loving smile on his face. "Hello," he said, and then he stood up quickly to pull out a chair for Kurt to sit in.

"Hello. Thank you, Blaine," Kurt chuckled as he sat down.

"How was your day?" Blaine wanted to know.

"Uneventful, for the most part," Kurt explained, and as he told him what had happened, Blaine stared longingly into Kurt's eyes like he did every time they had a conversation.

"I love you so much," he said lovingly. He said it almost five times a week nowadays.

"I know that, Blaine," Kurt assured him. "I can tell. I see how much you love me. Alyssa's right. I am very lucky to have you." He regretted ever having thought of Bryce in a romantic light.

"And nothing's going on between me and Jeremiah, I swear to God, Kurt."

"I know. I trust you. I was crazy yesterday. I was possessive."

"I would have been the same way if I saw you talking to another guy."

"You're fine, Blaine," Kurt said in a tender, loving voice. He reached across the table and grabbed his boyfriend's hand. Neither of them cared who was looking. "We'll go to New York after graduation, and we'll spend the rest of our lives together."

"That sounds like a plan," Blaine breathed unevenly, and then he brought Kurt's hand toward his lips and kissed it. Kurt blushed. After they had lunch together, they held each other for a few moments, and then parted. Kurt went back home and found his father sitting on the couch, watching sports on TV. Kurt walked over to him and kissed him quickly on his head.

"Hey, Kurt," his dad greeted him. "What's up?"

"Nothing. Nothing, really. Just had lunch with Blaine."

"Okay, cool."

"Dad, remember when we had that talk about sex?"

"Uh, yeah. Why?" Burt was curious.

Kurt hated keeping secrets from his dad. "I was just curious how you would feel if I told you that I decided to act on what I learned…"

Burt sat up straight on the couch and leaned forward. "Have you been fooling around with Blaine, Kurt?"

"Yes," Kurt said, nodding. He breathed heavily. "I remember that that one time you found him sleeping in my bed months ago (when we didn't do anything, I promise), you were kind of grossed out. So I wanted to keep it a secret from you that we slept together recently, but I can't keep it inside any longer. It's like being gay. If I didn't let it out, I'd explode."

Burt sighed tiredly. "Kurt, come here," he said, gesturing for his son to come over, so he did. Burt pat the couch next to him, so Kurt sat down. His father looked him in the eyes. "I wanted you to wait. You're still just a kid, and I didn't want you to lose your innocence so soon. The only reason I didn't freak out a year and a half ago when you had that daffy girl Brittany over was because I knew nothing was gonna happen between you."

Kurt was crying, not because he was sad. He was crying because they were finally having a conversation about his sexuality where his dad wasn't somewhat uncomfortable or hesitant. It was a very open, honest conversation. "I just want you to take care of yourself. You mean a lot to me. And you should have talked to me before you took that step."

"Blaine is crazy about me," Kurt assured his father. "Today he almost started crying when he told me how much he loved me. It didn't matter that I didn't wait, because I know I did it with the right person. He wants to spend the rest of his life with me. He cares about me."

Burt smiled. "All I wanted was for you to find the right person. I just don't want you to keep secrets from me anymore. Always feel free to tell me what's on your mind."

And that was when Kurt decided to tell him, tell him the truth that he'd been so afraid of telling for what seemed like the longest time. He supposed it didn't really matter anymore since Karofsky had changed so much.

"Dad…" Kurt said, closing his eyes. He couldn't believe he was going to do this. He'd promised Dave he would never out him. "I have something to tell you… about Karofsky. Months ago, he told me he would kill me if I told anyone, right?"

"Yeah," Burt said with a frown at the thought of it, nodding. "What about it?"

"He didn't tell me not to tell anyone that he'd been bullying me," Kurt said, his heart beating very slowly. "He didn't want me to tell anyone something else…"

Burt became very concerned. "What's that s'posed to mean? Kurt, tell me."

Kurt took a very deep breath. "Karofsky terrified me because he was harassing me."

"Yeah, I know that. There's something else," Burt persisted. "I've known there was something else from first I heard of this kid. Come on. Tell me."

"He was harassing me -" He almost told Burt that Karofsky had an obsessive crush on him, and harassed him because he liked him. He stopped himself, and decided that this hadn't been such a good idea. "That's all. Don't worry about it. It's okay."

"No, it's not okay," Burt disagreed. "You better tell me, Kurt, or I'll find him and have him tell me."

"It's a secret I promised I'd keep," Kurt said, looking his dad firmly in the eye. "I don't want to out him."

"This could be serious."

"What does it matter? He's laid off of me. Well, kind of. At least he doesn't hurt me anymore. He's actually kind of friendly now. There's no use talking about the past."

"Huh," Burt said, staring hard at his son. "No. What did he do to you? I want to know every detail. Now at least I'll have something to tell that principal of yours."

"Dad, let it go!" Kurt shouted. "It's a thing of the past! It's over! Get over it!"

"No, I'm not gonna get over it," Burt said, sounding very angry. "I want to know everything that sicko did to you. Now. Tell me, or I'll ask Finn."

"Finn doesn't know either," Kurt said, shaking his head. "Dave's changed."

"If he was really changed, you wouldn't mind telling me," Burt pointed out. "Fine." He stood up from the couch and looked down at his son. "You don't have to tell me now. I know you will eventually."

Kurt sat and waited for his heartbeat to slow as his father headed over to the kitchen to make spaghetti for dinner. He couldn't believe he almost told Dave's secret. He swore he would never do that. Carole had been folding laundry. She came over to Kurt and kissed his cheek, and then she went to the kitchen to talk to her husband. Kurt had a feeling they were talking about him. He just _knew_ they were. He had no idea what his father thought Karofsky had done, probably something worse than he really had.

Burt came back in the room and looked at Kurt, "Here's the deal. You come out and tell me what the kid did to you, or I will find him and have him tell me."

Kurt took a deep breath and closed his eyes. Then he told him.

. . . . . . . . . . . .

** Author's Note: I haven't been updating this story as much as my Glee/Twilight crossover because that one is more popular, and this one is older. I've heard a lot of rumors about season three of Glee! I've heard now that it won't center around Finn, Rachel, and Kurt (which makes me a little sad, especially about Kurt) as much as season two did. Instead, a lot of the themes in season three will focus on Tina, Mike, Mercedes, and Mr. Schue and Sue, who haven't really been made a big deal of since season one, honestly. I also read that there aren't going to be as many songs in the show, and not many huge guest stars. It will focus more on all the characters. Not Sam so much; I've heard he is not going to be a regular. I got rid of the sex scene that I originally had in this chapter because when I wrote it I wasn't as experienced writing that kind of scene. I've gotten better at it, so expect to see it in future fics. I'm considering on writing a really sad fic in the future that includes a major character death, but I've never written something like that and it always makes me emotional. I'll see! Expect to see more of "Twilight It Up!" soon. Yeah, Alyssa is loosely based on Marissa from The Glee Project. She was my favorite contestant, so I wasn't thrilled that she got eliminated last week. Remember, this fic is older, and I've improved since. **


	4. Teen Queen

**Rated T for offensive language, mild sex themes and non-graphic sex scenes, scattered violence, and drama. **

**I'll post author's notes at the end of every chapter.**

**Warning! Crack!Couple St. Fabray. I know, weird. But Jesse has a motive. **

**. . . . . . . . . . . . . **

**Teen Queen**

Quinn Fabray hadn't won prom queen junior year. And unless she could dump Bryce and get a boyfriend her age by the time May rolled around, chances were that she wasn't going to be elected Senior Prom Queen either. She wanted May to wait because she liked Bryce, and didn't want to get rid of him just yet. Quinn considered all the reasons as to why it was possible she didn't win prom queen. For one thing, she lost her position as head cheerleader twice. She got pregnant in sophomore year. Lauren Zizes revealed her secret to the whole student body that she was a total loser in middle school - Lucy Caboosey. But still, Quinn was the girl that made boys do double takes when she passed. She broke hearts, and made girls jealous. People wanted to be like her, so you'd think she was happy. But she wasn't. The boy she loved dumped her for Rachel Berry. Rachel Berry! And she hadn't seen her father in almost two years after he found out she was pregnant. On that terrible night, Russell and Judy Fabray had kicked her out of the house and sent her to live with her boyfriend Finn. After Finn found out that it was Puck and not he who was the father of her baby, he made her leave and she lived with Puck. Mercedes rescued her, and let her live with her until the night she gave birth. Her mother Judy found her, told her Russell was out of their lives for good, and took her back in.

Rachel thought that she and Quinn would have become friends, since Rachel's mother Shelby Corcoran had adopted Quinn's baby girl Beth. Every so often, Quinn would wonder how her daughter was doing. When she'd given her away, she felt like a gigantic weight had been lifted. Now she just wanted to know what was going on in her life. She decided that she wanted to see her daughter one Wednesday night while she was at her youth group.

The group of teens that were at the church stood and sang about worshipping Jesus. Quinn observed the kids that were there every week. One of them was Azimio, quite the hypocrite. He would come here and sing about Jesus, and then go to school and bully kids that sang. Riley and Tristan also came every week; they were quite the hypocrites too, especially Riley. Santana and Brittany used to come, but they became closer, and then stopped coming.

Tonight was a night on top of the roof. After everyone sang and prayed, it was time to play a game of water balloon tag. Girls versus boys. Quinn rolled her eyes. She was prepared to get soaked. All the boys were bound to chase her. She'd straightened her short, shiny blonde hair, and wore a blue jean jacket over a white tank top, and a pair of jeans and sneakers. Quinn liked to wear cute dresses, but every week at church the kids played sports-esque games, and a cute dress wasn't the right wear for activities like that. She grabbed two water balloons (one blue and one red), and started running in no particular direction. The boys bolted after her; she was soaked within minutes.

"Having trouble?" Riley asked; she dry as sand, dodging water balloons right and left.

"How are you getting out of the way?" Quinn asked as Riley hit five boys square in the back of the head with five different water balloons. Azimio hit Quinn's lower back with one.

"You just need to athletic," Riley said confidently.

"I am athletic," Quinn snapped at her.

"Correction: you _used_ to be an athlete," Riley laughed. "You're a mother now."

"I am not a mother!" Quinn shouted, grabbing Riley's shoulder. "I don't have a baby!"

"That's right. You gave her to Yentl's mother," Riley chuckled, running off.

"I'll kill you, Riley Brown!" Quinn shouted, and a football player named Zach Sayer hit her right in the chest with a water balloon. All the football players cheered and gave him a high five. Quinn gave all nine of them a death glare, and then went over to the elevator to grab her purse. All she wanted to do was go home now. She went down the elevator, and walked through the parking lot. Her mother Judy wasn't going to be at the church for another half hour, so Quinn decided she could take a quick walk around the city to calm her nerves.

She stopped at an ice cream cart and bought some soft-served vanilla. Then she sat down at an umbrella table and ate. She thought about how stressful her life was, and then broke down crying. She sat there and cried all by herself. No one else was around, except for the familiar young man with curly brown hair and a black leather jacket turning the corner. When he came closer, Quinn remembered who he was: Jesse St. James, ex-boyfriend of Rachel Berry and arch nemesis of Finn Hudson.

Jesse chuckled and stood in front of her. "All alone, Miss Fabray?"

"She was going to be at the church to pick me up," Quinn said, and then Jesse lifted his hand and placed it on the back of her short, sleek blonde hair. "Please don't touch me," Quinn snapped at him, slapping his arm away.

"I'm not trying to be creepy, Quinn," the college sophomore told her. "I'm just trying to comfort you. You and I have been betrayed by those we loved. By ones we thought loved us. To be honest, I've been thinking about you, Quinn. I've been at the church all evening. You just didn't see me. I saw you leave, and decided to follow you."

"I don't get it," said Quinn, feeling uncomfortable. "Why do you care about me? It's Rachel you're obsessed with."

"Rachel dropped me for Finn Hudson," Jesse reminded her. "Kind of like he dumped you for her. Isn't that right?"

Quinn felt a lump in her throat. "Yes… yes, that's- that's what happened."

"I thought that maybe you and I could start seeing each other," Jesse explained. "I know I'm not your type. I mean, you're like day and I'm like night, but you could get into it."

"I want to see my baby," Quinn admitted. "Beth. I want to see her again."

"I can arrange that," Jesse said with a smile. "I've kept in touch with Ms. Corcoran. I visit her every so often. I've actually met Beth. She's a beautiful girl. She looks like you. Only when you look very, very closely can you see any evidence of her being Puck's."

Quinn chuckled. "So she's healthy and happy?"

"Both," Jesse said, nodding.

"Do you know if she's ever asked about me?" Quinn was curious to know.

"I don't know," Jesse replied. "I could contact Shelby, and ask her to introduce you."

He lifted his hand again, and cupped Quinn's cheek. "You looked like Cinderella at that prom. You were the prettiest girl I've ever seen. Finn Hudson doesn't know what he lost." Quinn closed her eyes, and felt Jesse's breath close to her face. She had a feeling he was gonna kiss her. Suddenly he did. And she let him. She even kissed him back. He took her face in both hands as he kissed her lips. His kiss was very passionate. He scared her a little bit. Jesse had frightened Quinn a little ever since she'd seen him for the first time. He was just so intense, and he wasn't really a good guy. He was kind of a heartbreaker, worse than Puck. But she didn't tell him to stop or go away. She didn't tell him that she was going out with a sweet freshman boy. Truth be told, Quinn liked men. She didn't like little boys. Jesse was masculine, mature, and dominant. He could provide more for her.

Quinn moaned when Jesse stopped kissing her. Her phone rang. Her hands as she shook when she got it out of her pocket and spoke into it. "Hello, M-Mom." Her voice shook as she spoke. "Hi…. I'm so sorry, Mom. I'm over by the ice cream cart across the street."

She hung up, and looked up into Jesse's eyes. Jesse had both of his hands on Quinn's neck, making her shiver. "You should probably go away before my mom gets here." But then she wrapped her arms around him and kissed his lips again. He held her tightly. Out of the corner of her eye, Quinn saw her mother's car. She pushed Jesse away from her, and composed herself. Then she fixed her hair, ran over, and got in her mother's car.

"Baby, why weren't you waiting for me at the church?" Judy asked as she drove off. Quinn waved subtly at Jesse out the window. He smiled back at her and then walked away in the opposite direction. Quinn hadn't heard her mom. "Quinnie, honey?"

"What?"

"Why weren't you waiting for me at the church?"

"Oh, I'm so sorry, Mom. Some of the kids weren't being so nice to me, so I took a walk to cool myself off."

"You sound shaken," Judy said in a concerned tone of voice. "What'd they do to you?"

"You know, they made fun of me," Quinn replied. "Since I'm in Glee Club."

Judy sighed. "I know you love Glee Club, dear. But if this bullying gets out of hand, you can quit. You know that."

"I don't want to quit Glee Club, Mom. But I do want them to quit bullying me."

During the rest of the drive home, Quinn thought about Jesse. The two of them had something in common: Finchel – the scourge of their lives. Maybe that would bring them closer and perhaps they could become something. In reality, Jesse didn't really care about Quinn. He was doing this for himself so that he could get Rachel back. Once Finn Hudson saw that his worst enemy was dating Quinn Fabray, he would get jealous. Wouldn't he? It was obvious that Finn preferred Rachel to Quinn, but Finn would lose his mind if he knew that Quinn was dating _Jesse._ Right?

. . . . . . . . . . . .

"Um, guys," Mr. Schue said, looking a bit surprised. Everyone was sitting in the auditorium. "We've got three special guests here to visit today: Jesse St. James, Shelby Corcoran, and… Beth." He'd said Beth's name quieter, because he wasn't sure how Quinn and Puck would feel about her. Quinn's eyes widened. Puck leaned forward in his seat. Lauren frowned over at Quinn, and Bryce frowned over at Puck. This was their daughter.

A beautiful infant with honey-blonde hair entered the auditorium, holding Shelby's hand. The blonde baby was wearing a small, checkered pink and white dress. Jesse was standing beside Shelby. He caught Quinn's eye and winked at her. Rachel made a confused facial expression. Finn held Rachel in a protective fashion since Jesse was there.

"Well," said Mr. Schue after a long, awkward, stunned silence. "I think some of you have catching up to do. Quinn, Rachel?"

Both girls stood up quickly from their chairs and came forward. Shelby let go of the little girl's hand and coaxed her to go over to Quinn. Despite Lauren's attempts to make him sit where he was, Puck jumped up and followed Quinn over to the little girl. Rachel went over to Shelby, who let Puck and Quinn have Beth to themselves. Jesse watched every move Rachel made. Rachel felt his eyes on her, but she said, "I have so much to tell you, Mom."

"Let's talk then, sweetie," Shelby said with a bright smile, giving her daughter a hug.

The two of them walked off and Puck and Quinn stayed by Beth. Jesse stood where he was as well, now watching every move that Quinn made. "Hi, Beth," Quinn said with a bright smile on her face. Puck looked at her, and thought she looked lovely. She'd never looked happier. "My name's Quinn. You probably don't remember me. It's nice to meet you."

"Beth," the little girl said in response. She didn't have a big vocabulary. While Quinn spoke to her, Mr. Schue kept the rest of Glee Club occupied by engaging them in a conversation about their favorite songs from the 80's.

"Hey Beth," said Puck, kneeling down and taking the little girl's hands. "I'm Puck."

"Beth," Beth repeated, and she gave Puck a hug around his shoulders. He returned the hug. Quinn laughed happily and bent down, hugging him as well. Then she looked up at Jesse, who was staring at her with no expression on his face. Feeling intimidated, Quinn looked away from him. This was an amazing moment for her and Puck, and Jesse was invading it.

. . . . . . . . . . . .

"How have things been with Beth?" Rachel asked Shelby at the back of the auditorium.

"Great," Shelby replied. "Every time she gets sad I give her a glass of water or a cup of milk, the way your dads have always done for you. She's young, but she's a very smart girl. She will be a great woman one day. What's wrong, honey? Are you alright?"

Rachel was crying now. "I can't help it. I'm so jealous of Beth."

Ever since Shelby had started raising Beth, she was a warmer person than she used to be. She went over to Rachel right away and wrapped her arms around her for a hug. "Why is that, honey? Is it because she gets to grow up with me around?"

"Yes, that's exactly why," Rachel sniffed. "I wish that I'd known you like she will have."

"Honey, I've always loved you. Even though I haven't always been there for you, I loved you so much," Shelby promised her. "But you don't need me. You never needed me. Look at you. Look at the powerful, intelligent, talented woman you've become."

"I do need my mom," Rachel argued. "I thought I could live without you, but I can't. There's no reason as to why I can't get to know you just because I'm practically an adult. Why can't I know you as a friend, at least?"

Shelby brushed a bang behind Rachel's ear. "If that's what you want, that's fine. We can become friends. I just don't think I have enough time to become your mother. Your dads have raised you perfectly. They didn't need my help."

"Can I see you once in a while?" Rachel pleaded. "Can you visit me sometimes?"

"Of course I can," Shelby said, holding her tightly. "And you can visit me too. Perhaps you can become like a sister to Beth. I've already told her so much about you, and everyone else in Glee Club. She told me she looks up to you. Everything I said impresses her."

"What do you tell her?" Rachel was curious to know.

"I tell her you have an amazing singing voice, and this compelling personality," Shelby began. "I tell her you're a leader. I tell her you're destined to be a star because you're talented, and you work hard and love what you do. I told her you always reach for the stars."

Now Rachel's tears of sadness became tears of happiness. She loved the way her mother saw her. "Thank you, Mom," she said softly. "It means a lot to me that you told her that."

"You are so beautiful, Rachel," Shelby sighed. "And your boyfriend Finn is lucky to have you. I talked to Mr. Schue. He said you're one of the kids he's gonna miss most of all when you all graduate. You've made a huge impact. When Beth becomes a teenager, I'm gonna move back to Lima. I'm gonna enroll her at McKinley High, and she's gonna be in Glee Club. Mr. Schue is gonna think she's great the way he thought you were great. She's going to carry on your legacy in New Directions, Rachel. And when you're a huge Broadway star, Beth's gonna rave about you. You're going to have all the success I never had, baby."

"I wanna become a star so badly, Mom," Rachel said. "I don't know if I ever will become a star. But I'm gonna try hard. For you and for me."

. . . . . . . . . . . .

"Hey, Kurt," said Dave. "Want me to walk you to class?"

"I appreciate the offer, David," Kurt said politely. "But I can walk myself to class."

"But the Bully Whips wanna protect you," Dave insisted.

"Ever since I was voted Prom Queen, no one's bothered me," Kurt pointed out. "To my face, at least. I think I'll be safe." He started away. Dave followed after him.

"Can I walk with you? Please?" He sounded desperate. "As a friend?"

"Sure, as a friend," Kurt said, but he rolled his eyes subtly. "So how's your life?"

"Great. Santana and I have been making out, and -" Dave began.

"You don't need to lie to me, David," Kurt cut him off. "You don't like girls."

"Shh!" Dave hissed at him when people walked by. "I don't want people to know that."

Kurt's eyes widened. "You still haven't come out? There's no hope for you."

"Hey, how's your boyfriend treating you?" Dave asked very quietly when no one else was near them. "Has he hurt you since you guys did it?"

Kurt took a step away from him. "What makes you think we did it?"

"Oh…" Dave felt embarrassed. He didn't want Kurt to know that he'd watched them get it on through their motel room window. "I don't know if you did it, but I'm guessing -"

"Just because I'm gay doesn't mean I'm promiscuous, David," Kurt said sternly.

"Is he treating you right?" Dave repeated.

"Yes," Kurt replied. "He tells me he loves me constantly."

"Does he really love you?" Dave challenged.

"Yes, he does," Kurt said loudly. "I couldn't be happier." He walked ahead of him.

"I have something to tell you, Kurt." Dave closed his eyes tightly.

"Yes?" said Kurt, and he stopped walking to look at him.

"I wanted to dance with you at prom… so badly." He opened his eyes so that tears fell down his face, which was red as a fire truck. "But everyone was watching, and I was so afraid. After I ran, that dapper hobbit got to dance with you. He's so lucky. I didn't deserve you."

Kurt kept very composed. "I know you wanted to dance with me, David. But let's face it: if you hadn't treated me so badly to begin with, I never would have met Blaine."

"I destroy everything," Dave muttered bitterly, hating himself with a passion.

"Listen," said Kurt in a comforting tone, placing a hand up on his shoulder. Dave looked around to make sure no one was around to see. "When you come out, a man will become inspired by your courage the way you were inspired by mine. And he will love you."

Dave lowered his head and said in a defeated voice, "He won't be you."

Kurt took his hand off his shoulder and said, "I'm sorry, David."

"Get away from me!" Dave demanded angrily, turning around. He slammed both of his fists into a locker the way he'd done after Kurt had rejected his advances months ago, and stormed off. Kurt just stood there, staring after him, pitying him.

** . . . . . . . . . . . .**

**Author's Note: Two chapters today! I've got a lot of Glee projects planned for fanfiction, so I need to start uploading more than one chapter at a time to get things moving. I wrote this several months ago; I hope that soon I can get it all up on fanfiction so that I can move on to other projects. This is an old story. I hope Damian wins the Glee Project! **


	5. Paranoia

**Rated T for offensive language, mild sex themes, scattered violence, offensive nicknames, and drama. **

**I'll post author's notes at the end of every chapter.**

**. . . . . . . . . . . . . **

**Paranoia **

"You have my permission," Kurt breathed, "to go rougher next time. I won't mind."

Blaine's eyes widened. "Kurt, are you sure? I don't want to hurt you."

"You've been an angel, Blaine," Kurt told him. "I trust you. Don't worry."

Blaine gazed longingly into his eyes. "I wish I could kiss you right now."

Kurt blushed. "When we're alone…"

Blaine shook his head. "I want everyone to see."

_I've found my handsome prince, _Kurt thought to himself. "I'll kiss you."

The two of them leaned forward to kiss on the lips, but Blaine's ringtone went off. 'When I Get You Alone' started playing, which got Kurt suspicious, since that was the song Blaine had sung in February when serenading a certain GAP employee… Blaine's reaction to the phone didn't help to make things less fishy. He jumped in his seat and grimaced.

"I'll be right back, K-Kurt," he stuttered, stood up quickly, and bolted to the bathroom.

"Kurt Hummel?" exclaimed a familiar voice he hadn't heard in a while. He looked up and saw Miss Holly Holiday, a tall, energetic blonde woman who'd substituted the Glee Club almost a year ago while Mr. Schue was sick with a cold. She waved exuberantly and came over. Kurt jumped up from his seat and clapped his hands excitedly. She gave him a bone-crunching hug. "Ooh, how tall you've gotten, Kurt! Mind if I sit?" Kurt shook his head, so she did. "I happened to catch that young man leaving your table. Is he someone special?"

"Yes, actually," Kurt said, smiling. "He's my boyfriend. Blaine."

"Get out, Kurt," Holly teased. "Way to go, babe."

"Yeah, he's kind of perfect…" His voice trailed off. He thought of Jeremiah.

"When I met you, you were sweet n' single," Holly pointed out.

"Yeah, now I'm not so single," Kurt chuckled, but he was too anxious about Blaine to relax and have a pleasant conversation with Holly. "I met him while I went to Dalton."

"But you go to McKinley again, right?" Holly asked, and Kurt nodded. "How's Will? I mean, Mr. Schue. Is he with your guidance counselor Miss Pillsbury?"

Kurt shook his head. "You know, I couldn't tell you." He laughed.

"Ah." Holly nodded. She looked up and gasped. "Oh my gosh. There's that scary cheerleading coach from your school. Sue Sylvester. The one who wanted me in jail. I guess I'd better skedaddle. But it was great seeing you again, Kurt. Tell everyone I said hi." She rubbed his shoulder before she ran off. Kurt promised he'd tell them hi, and waved good bye to her.

His blood boiled. He stood up, clenched his fists, and walked toward that bathroom.

Blaine was washing his face off with the sink water. He seemed awfully anxious.

"Are you okay, Blaine?" Kurt asked, startling his boyfriend. Blaine gasped.

"Yes, Kurt, I was on my way out. How about that kiss?" He put a hand to his cheek and kissed him softly on the lips. Kurt sighed and placed his own hand on Blaine's cheek. "Come on."

"Wait, Blaine. I just have to use the bathroom myself," Kurt said, and Blaine nodded.

"Alright," he said. "Meet me at the car." He left to give his boyfriend some privacy.

Kurt's sigh was interrupted by a sob. He didn't want to believe that his beloved - his first - the one he gave himself to, was cheating on him. He entered a stall and found Blaine's phone! The call must have frenzied him up so much that he'd forgotten it. Out of curiosity, Kurt explored Blaine's phone. He was notified that Blaine had four missed calls – all from Jeremiah. Kurt clapped a hand to his mouth. A whimper managed to escape his lips. No, it wasn't possible; it couldn't be true!

. . . . . . . . . . . .

What Santana needed wasn't a beard. It was an actual boyfriend who thought she was straight so that no one suspected a thing. That was the only thing that would make Brittany jealous, drive her crazy, and make her want to run away from the four-eyed cripple. So Santana found Dave Karofsky, and pulled him aside. "We have to end this," she whispered. "I'm breaking up with you, kind of."

"What do you mean, kind of?" Dave was curious to know.

"Because we were only really 'fake dating,' so now we're 'fake breaking up.' You didn't win me Prom Queen, so what's the point in dating you anymore? Or continuing with the Bully Whips?" Santana had used her fingers to put air quotes when she said 'fake dating' and 'fake breaking up.' Dave sighed with relief, and mouthed the words, "It's about freaking time."

"So what are you gonna do now?" he asked her.

"I'm gonna start hitting on this kid in Glee Club," Santana replied. "He's a sophomore. His name is Trey Jordan. He'd be thrilled to go out with me. I know he thinks I'm smokin'. All the guys do. And Dave, I highly suggest that you find yourself a straight girlfriend if you have any hope of keeping everyone at this school thinking you're not gay."

"Wait," said Dave, panicking suddenly. "I can't just _get_ a girlfriend. Who do I ask?"

"I don't know, and I can't really help ya. Just start hitting and creeping on every single girl you can find. Someone's bound to hook up with you." Santana walked off, and Dave wanted to punch someone. How dare she just leave him without telling him exactly what to do!

Santana approached Trey at his locker. "Hey, hot stuff," she said with a wink.

"Hey," he replied. "Aren't you still dating that Karofsky guy?"

"I just broke up with him," Santana explained. "I broke up with him because I actually like you a lot. Wanna go on a date some time?"

Trey laughed awkwardly and looked around. "Yeah, why not?" He seemed confused.

"Sweet, I've got a thing for younger men," Santana said, and they walked off together.

A few lockers down Bryce was breaking up with Quinn. "Why are you doing this?"

"I tried to forget about it, but when that Jesse person came by a few weeks ago, I got a feeling like there was something going on between the two of you," Bryce explained. "You kept looking at each other, and I just can't keep doing this if you're cheating on me."

"I'm not cheating on you, Bryce. I promise you," Quinn tried to convince him.

"Why should I believe that? Those are just words," Bryce said, sounding hurt.

"Fine, you wanna know the truth?" Quinn bitched, putting her fists on her hips. "I kissed Jesse. Sorry. I'm only human! Go ahead. Break up with me. See if I care."

"Now I know I'm not paranoid," Bryce said bitterly, and Quinn strutted away. Bryce made sure he wasn't gonna cry. It wasn't cool for a guy to cry, but he'd really liked Quinn.

Azimio, Zach, and Ronnie walked by and saw Karofsky take off his beret and replace his red leather Bully Whips jacket with the letterman jacket all the football players wore.

"Z, I'm done with Santana," Karofsky said to get his attention. "It's over."

"Welcome back to the Land of Normalcy, my friend!" Azimio said, high-fiving him. "Seriously, that Santana chick is hot, but you're lucky to be rid of her. Now you can be cool again."

"I must admit, I miss the fear in my victim's eyes," Karofsky said with a grin as the other athletes pat him on the back. Hummel was such a joker, thinking he would come out. If he came out, he would no longer have his friends from football. His secret was still safe. "Being a Bully Whip made me feel as gay as those losers in Glee Club."

"Speaking of gay," Azimio said, pointing his finger at Kurt across the hall. Karofsky's stomach lurched when he saw him. "You haven't kissed your queen, have you?"

"What?" Karofsky said nervously after Azimio's friends cackled heinously.

"Nothing, man. Just a joke I made with the guys," Azimio explained. "After the prom, I told the guys that the Bully Whips changed you so much that you probably wouldn't mind kissing your queen. It's just a joke, though. I know that's not true."

"Yeah, 'cause it's totally not true," Karofsky chuckled uncomfortably.

"Hey, why don't we mess with Hummel right now?" Azimio suggested, and his friends all cheered their approval. They came like a pack of wolves toward the ivory-skinned boy in the white sweater and surrounded him. Kurt rolled his eyes, and placed his fists on his hips. He looked up to tell them off, but got caught off-guard when he saw Karofsky was with them.

"David…" His voice was a mere whisper. Dave had terrified the crap out of him.

"You've got something on your shirt, Hummel," Dave said with a smirk.

Kurt looked down at his outfit, and Dave took the chewed piece of gum out of his mouth, and stuck it right on Kurt's sweater. Azimio and his friends cackled and gave each other high-fives. Kurt squealed in horror and then glared up at Karofsky, who grinned down at him.

"Hey ya'all," Azimio said to his friends, "let's get outta here before the queen orders to have our heads cut off!" They all ran off, leaving Kurt utterly confused and horrified. It wasn't bad enough that his boyfriend was probably cheating on him; now his ex-tormentor was going to torment him again.

Artie, Tina, and Alyssa were on their way to Glee Club. Suddenly Azimio, Karofsky, and Ronnie walked by: Azimio tossing a slushie in Tina's face, Karofsky tossing one in Alyssa's, and Ronnie tossing one in Artie's. The football jocks cackled, high-fived each other, and took off.

Artie removed his glasses and wiped the slushie off the lenses. "I'm not gonna miss them at all when I graduate."

"Me neither," Tina agreed, observing the red drink like blood on her black jacket.

"I don't know why they hate us so much," Alyssa said, grabbing the ends of her now-sticky hair. "We never did anything to them; we just like to sing and dance."

"That's what we did to them," Artie sighed. "We sang and danced."

"We can't go to Glee today," Tina decided. "Not like this. We have to go home and wash off. I can't take any more humiliation."

"Let's go to my house and clean off," Artie suggested, so that's what the three of them did. Tina drove and they went to Artie's house. They went into his kitchen and began cleaning off. They'd already changed into clean t-shirts and pajama pants, and put their own stained clothes in the wash. Tina held Artie's face as she scrubbed the sticky beverage off of it.

The three of them laughed as if getting rid of slushie was the most fun they'd had in their lives. "I never thought I'd have so much fun at a cleaning party," Alyssa remarked.

"Now we know how Miss Pillsbury feels," Artie chuckled.

"I'm having a great time," Tina said, smiling at him.

"I am too," Artie said, smiling back at her. "We always had fun like this. I miss it. Thank you for sharing this with me."

Then unexpectedly, Tina closed her eyes and kissed Artie on the lips. Artie was too stunned to kiss back, but he let Tina kiss him anyway. Alyssa averted her eyes to give them privacy. The kiss wasn't a short one. It lasted for a few minutes, in fact. The "cleaning party" must have been long, because Brittany, Santana, and Trey entered the room. Glee Club was over for the day. Tina had just stopped kissing Artie a few seconds before they reached the kitchen.

"Well, what do we have here?" Santana asked with a triumphant smirk on her face. This was the perfect opportunity to screw four-eyes over big time. "The three of you totally ditched Glee to go home and get involved in some good, wet fun, huh?"

"What's that supposed to mean?" Brittany asked, her eyes wide.

"Nothing's going on, Brittany," Artie promised, wheeling his chair toward her. "Tina, Alyssa, and I got slushied today at school, so we went home to clean off."

"You could have asked me to help you clean off, Artie," Brittany pointed out. "I've done it before. My tongue is better than that sink water."

Santana blushed jealously and frowned at Artie. Then she grabbed Trey by the arm, and pulled him closer to her. Trey looked utterly confused.

"To be perfectly honest, I was too embarrassed this time, Brittany," Artie sighed. "I'm sick of you having to see that people pick on me. I want you to think people take me more seriously. I wasn't worried about what Tina and Alyssa thought."

"I take you seriously, Artie," Brittany assured him. "I wasn't gonna laugh at you. I got slushied the other day, and I went to Glee Club anyway."

"But you're cooler than me," Artie said, and then he regretted it. He didn't want his girlfriend to think she was superior to him.

"I didn't think being cool mattered so much to you," Brittany said, looking disgusted.

"Yeah, Artie. What the hell?" Santana piped in, laughing on the inside.

"It doesn't, I guess," Artie said, squinting his eyes. He honestly had no idea what to say now. "Yeah, it doesn't really. I don't care. I just want you to know that nothing happened between me and Tina or Alyssa, especially not Tina."

Santana raised an eyebrow, and Trey looked down at his feet. He wasn't really in the mood for any drama right now.

"I trust you, Artie," Brittany said, coming over to Artie. She got behind his wheelchair and pushed him gently into the living room where they could watch TV. As they passed Tina, Artie glanced a few times back at her and gave her a sad smile. Tina gave a small wave of her hand while Santana and Trey weren't looking at her.

But Santana and Trey were still standing there, so Tina and Alyssa exchanged uncomfortable looks. Santana crossed her arms and said, "You two look guilty about something. You still gonna try to deny that you were having a slippery threesome with Artie?"

"Santana, you're not wearing your Bully Whips uniform," Tina said back.

"What rock have you been living under?" Santana scoffed, holding up her hands. "The Bully Whips ended with Santofsky! Listen, slants. I wanna thank you."

"Thank me?" Tina said, making a face.

"Whatever you're doing with Artie, keep at it," Santana said, giving her a thumbs up. "It's only contributing to step one of the master plan: to break Artie and Brittany up."

"And why are you so interested in making that happen?" Alyssa was curious to know.

"Because," Santana began, "Brittany and Artie might both be in Glee Club, but that doesn't change the fact that they're from two different planets. Brittany and I aren't cheerleaders like we were last year, but we're from Coolness Land. And Artie and you guys are from Loserville."

"This is unnecessary, Santana," Trey said, looking unimpressed with his new girlfriend.

"I didn't ask your opinion," Santana snapped at him. She turned back to Tina and Alyssa. "Romeo died at the end of the play. Remember that."

"So did Juliet," Alyssa pointed out, and Tina made a face as Santana and Trey went over to the living room to watch TV with Brittany and Artie.

"Yeah, but what does that have to do with anything?" Tina wanted to know.

"I don't know. That kind of made no sense," Alyssa agreed.

"Whatever," Tina said, shaking her head, and the two of them left Artie's house.

. . . . . . . . . . . .

**Author's Note: Remember, this is an old story. I know I've said it several times, but I've wanted to reinforce it. If I was to write it over again, I would do several things differently. Still, I hope you enjoyed it. **


	6. Sectionals

**Rated T for offensive language, mild sex themes, scattered violence, offensive nicknames, and drama. **

**I'll post author's notes at the end of every chapter.**

**. . . . . . . . . . . . . **

**Sectionals **

Sue Sylvester entered the teacher's lounge one afternoon, determined to take the empty seat at William Schuester's table. Emma Pillsbury and Coach Beiste were already at either side of him like a pair of hos. Sue took a few strides over, but suddenly went flying through the air!

"Step aside, Twinkle Toes!" cackled the drunken and irritating voice of Brenda Castle, the astronomy teacher and badminton coach. She stuck her tongue out at a fallen and humiliated Sue Sylvester, sprawled out on the tile floor with hot coffee in her hair.

Brenda Castle took the final seat at Will's table eagerly, and turned around to give Sue an evil grin. Sue's eyes averted from Brenda to the other teachers in the lounge. Everyone was laughing at her - in slow motion! Sue growled. This only ever happened when Brenda Castle was there! Only ever! Two years ago Porcelain had broken into her private stash of Jazzercise videos, and found a tape of her rocking out to Olivia Newton-John's classic "Physical." He and the other Glee Clubbers posted it on the internet and turned her into a huge laughing stock. Sure, she'd gotten fame out of it and even recreated the video with Newton-John herself. But the whole ordeal put her on Castle's radar, and the two of them had been enemies since.

Sue watched Brenda flirt her little heart out with Will. _Talk all you want. He'll never be interested, _Sue thought with a chuckle. Will was a stiff. He wasn't into drunken hooligans like Brenda Castle. No. He didn't realize it, but he was in love with a one Sue Sylvester. He must have been. Now, Sue could flirt with Will. She could kiss him. She could even sleep with him. But she could not fall in love with him. She was a married woman. She loved herself/domestic partner. She could tease him, but she couldn't please him. She just needed to help Will on his way to realizing that she was what he really wanted.

. . . . . . . . . . . .

"I turned eighteen a month ago," Kurt told the manager at Breadstix. "I've eaten here a million times. I know the menu practically by heart. I'm confident, and I know how to talk to people. I'm a great listener, and I'm very professional."

"Problem is, there are a bunch of people that want to be waiters here, and you're much younger than any of them," the manager sighed, "but I'll give you the job if you want it that bad. You seem like a good kid. You start working tonight, okay?"

"Okay," Kurt said excitedly. That was a lot easier than he'd expected it to be. He hoped that being given this job didn't have anything to do with the fact that he was gay, and that the manager would be seen as a bigot if he didn't let him have it. He didn't tell his dad or his step mom that he went for this job. He was doing this to impress Blaine. He also needed to do something to take his mind off of things. He needed to get away from his problems.

That evening Artie, Brittany, Tina, and Mike entered the restaurant. Kurt squealed excitedly and clapped his hands when he saw them. But then he remembered that there were certain tables he was supposed to wait on, and the one they were seated at wasn't one of them. However, Tina saw him and waved quickly. He waved back and grinned happily. He wanted to get a chance to talk to them before they left. Next the football players - the mean ones - came in. Azimio, Karofsky, Zach, Ronnie, and Bryce! Bryce was too nice to hang out with them. Perhaps he was trying to get back at Quinn by hanging out with the enemies.

"That's your table," a black waiter said, pointing after the bullies were seated.

"Oh no," Kurt begged, shaking his head. "Those kids torture me at school."

The waiter gave him a look, like he was being unprofessional. "Fine. I'll take over."

"Thank you so much," Kurt said gratefully, and the waiter went over for him.

When Kurt went over to wait on a nearby table, Karofsky looked up and saw him. Kurt could feel those beady black eyes. And when he turned around, he met their gaze. When he walked away, he could still feel them. Kurt's heart beat as he ducked in the men's restroom. He could have hid in the employee's restroom, or ducked into the kitchen, but he didn't. After all, this was his first night as an employee, and he was too afraid to think clearly.

. . . . . . . . . . . .

"Has Kurt still not written a song for Sectionals?" Rachel asked Finn anxiously.

"He has been writing," Finn replied. "I've looked through his trash can. There are several crumpled sheets of paper with lyrics written on them. But I'm not sure if he's decided he likes any of his ideas. Most of them are about making mistakes, what's worth living for, and fear. It's all very depressing. He's always wanted to sing a solo at Sectionals, and now he's slacking."

"Maybe I should help him," Rachel said. "I could give him some of my ideas."

"No offense Rachel, but the judges aren't going to be interested in songs about headbands and being an only child," Finn said honestly. "Kurt's been writing about what's in his soul, but he's too afraid to share it. I think he's worried about Blaine."

"How do you know that?" Rachel asked.

"He wrote it in his songs," Finn said.

"I see," Rachel replied. "Well, I still think I can help him."

Finn chuckled. "Maybe." The two of them kissed on the lips.

. . . . . . . . . . . .

"Finn told me a little bit about Jesse St. James," Bryce said loudly, marching over to Quinn and Jesse sitting on the steps outside McKinley. They were eating lunch; Quinn had come here to join her new boyfriend. She was wearing a pale blue dress and cardigan, and a blue bow in her adorable bob cut. "Apparently he's a heartbreaker and a big jerk. Why are you dating him?" Bryce asked her. "You know he's not your type. You like guys like me, not guys like him. I like you so much, Quinn. More than he ever will."

Quinn knew that Bryce liked her. But she was still angry at Finn for leaving her for Rachel. She figured the only way to make Finn really jealous was to date the person he hated the most, and Finn hated no one the way he hated Jesse St. James. In fact, Jesse was using Quinn for the exact same reason. He hated Rachel for choosing Finn over him, and he wanted to upset her by dating the prettiest girl she knew.

"I liked you, Bryce," Quinn assured the younger boy in a caring tone she didn't usually use. "But now that I've gotten to know Jesse, I realize that it's him I want in that way. I'm sorry. I'm not going to break up with him. I like him too much. Do you understand?"

Bryce sighed. "Yes. I understand." Jesse gave a satisfied smile and put his arm around Quinn's shoulders. Quinn smiled weakly at Bryce as he walked away. Bryce meant to find the football players and sit with them for lunch, but instead went to the hallway and sang when no one could hear him, _"Easy come, easy go, that's just how you live. Oh, take, take, take it all, but you never give. Should've known you was trouble from the first kiss. Had your eyes wide open - why were they open? Gave you all I had and you tossed it in the trash. You tossed it in the trash, you did. To give me all your love was all I ever asked. 'Cause what you don't understand is I'd catch a grenade for ya. Throw my hand on a blade for ya. I'd jump in front of a train for ya. You know I'd do anything for ya. I would go through all this pain. Take a bullet straight for my brain. Yes, I would die for you, baby! But you won't do the same."_

He walked into the bathroom and looked in the mirror. _"No, no, no, no." _He stared miserably at his reflection, and then beside it, at the hallucination of Quinn. Standing there with a sweet smile on her face. From behind her came another hallucination of Jesse St. James, with a twisted smirk. _"Black, black, black and blue, beat me 'til I'm numb. Tell the devil I said, hey, when you get back to where you're from."_ He looked away from Jesse to Quinn_. "Mad woman, bad woman, that's just what you are, yeah. You'll smile in my face then rip the brakes out my car. Gave you all I had and you tossed it in the trash. You tossed it in the trash, yes, you did. To give me all your love is all I ever asked. 'Cause what you don't understand is I'd catch a grenade for ya. Throw my hand on a blade for ya. I'd jump in front of a train for ya." _

He left the bathroom, stuck his hands in his pockets, and went over to his locker. _"You know I'd do anything for ya. I would go through all this pain. Take a bullet straight toward my brain! Yes, I would die for ya, baby! But you won't do the same. If my body was on fire, ooh, you'd watch me burn down in flames. You said you loved me; you're a liar. 'Cause you never, ever, ever did, baby! But darling, I'd still catch a grenade for ya. Throw my hand on a blade for ya. I'd jump in front of a train for ya. You know, I'd do anything for ya. I would go through all this pain. Take a bullet straight toward my brain. Yes, I would die for you, baby. But you won't do the same. No, you won't do the same. You wouldn't do the same. Ooh, you never do the same. No, no, no, no." _He didn't cry. He was a strong man, and he couldn't cry.

"Bryce!" called the familiar voice of Tristan Boone as she ran over to him.

"Oh hey, Tristan, what's up?" Bryce asked in a defeated tone of voice.

"Ronnie told me all about what happened with Quinn," Tristan explained. She sounded cheerful even while talking about something depressing. Also, she was currently dating Ronnie, a senior. "And we decided that it would be cool if you started dating Riley. Riley's single since she liked Sam Evans, but he's dating that girl Lexus -"

"Mercedes," Bryce corrected.

"Yeah," said Tristan. "But you're both single now and both cute, so….."

"I don't want to go out with Riley," Bryce said bluntly.

"But she even kind of looks like Quinn," Tristan pointed out.

Not really. True, Quinn and Riley were both tan and blonde, but Quinn had a much prettier face than Riley did. Bryce knew that. "So?" he said. "Then I would have to look at her and think of Quinn every time I'm with her. No. I think I'll stay single for a while."

"But you're on the football team," Tristan pointed out. "You need to date someone."

"I was dating someone," Bryce said angrily. "And now she's out of my hands. If I try to get her back, her new boyfriend will kill me. Have you met him?"

"No, but I hear he's weird," Tristan said. Bryce smiled at that statement.

"How is Riley taking being single?" he was curious to know.

"Not very well," Tristan whispered. "But don't tell her I told you that."

"I know someone she could date," Bryce said. "He and his girlfriend split recently, and he's free. Dave Karofsky."

Tristan made a face.

"He was prom king," Bryce pointed out. "It'll boost Riley's popularity to date him."

Tristan considered this. "You're right. I'll ask her what she thinks."

"Cool." Bryce nodded at her before she skipped off to find her best friend.

**. . . . . . . . . . . .**

"Hey," Rachel said, greeting Kurt and Mr. Schue at the bus. Kurt had been showing Mr. Schue the song he was going to be singing today at Sectionals. "I haven't gotten a chance to see it."

"You'll hear it later," Mr. Schue told her. "Artie, Brittany, Tina, and Mike all wrote the second song together. They'll tell you all about it. They wrote a solo in for you, Rachel. Kurt's been having a hard time lately, and I'm trying to comfort him."

Rachel reached out and touched Kurt's arm, but he pulled it away from her. "I understand if you don't feel up to singing today. I'll sing it for you."

Kurt scowled. "Right. Let you sing my song the one time I get a solo for Sectionals."

Rachel sighed. Kurt obviously didn't want any help. Artie, Brittany, Tina, Mike, Santana, and Trey were already on the bus. Rachel got on it and went over to them to talk about the second song.

"You get the chorus after the bridge, Rachel," Mike explained.

"But that's the most important part of the song," Rachel pointed out. "Why would you let me have it?"

Tina chuckled. "You think any of us can hit that high note in it?"

"Yeah, seriously," Brittany agreed.

"Thank you, guys," Rachel said, smiling. She pat Artie's shoulder. Then Finn, Puck, Lauren, Sam, and Mercedes came onto the bus. Kurt was still outside talking to Mr. Schue. Finn sat down beside Rachel and kissed her cheek. "We're off to Sectionals," Rachel sighed.

"Yep," Finn said, putting his arm around her. "And we're so gonna win this."

"Yeah we are," Brittany cheered, clapping her hands. Then Puck did the same, and Lauren did a fist-pump in the air. Sam and Mercedes were kissing passionately. They told each other good luck, and then Quinn, Alyssa, and Bryce climbed aboard the bus.

A few minutes later, Mr. Schue placed a hand on Kurt's shoulder when they got up on the bus. Rachel and Finn both stared at the tear stains on Kurt's face. "How are we going to place at Sectionals if our main soloist looks as though he's just had his puppy put to sleep?" Santana asked insensitively.

"Leave him alone. He'll do great," Rachel said kindly. She smiled weakly at Kurt.

Mr. Schue said something to the piano player, Brad, and then turned to New Directions to speak. "We're not ready to go yet. Miss Pillsbury will be joining us."

"What? Is he dating her again?" Santana asked Trey.

"No." Trey shook his head. "He's dating Coach Beiste."

Santana laughed. "Ha. That's funny."

"No, he's seriously dating Coach Beiste. I'm not kidding," Trey insisted.

Santana's jaw dropped. "Wow. I'm so sorry. When did this start?"

"Last week," Trey replied. "She announced it during practice."

A few minutes later, Emma Pillsbury hurried onto the bus. "Sorry I'm late!" she squealed apologetically and she sat down at the front of the bus. "I had to run home and make sure I turned off the stove. Don't want the whole house to burn down." She chuckled awkwardly, and then the bus started off to the theater. Puck and Lauren were sharing an ipod, and Sam and Mercedes were looking at facebook on their phones. Emma Pillsbury was fixing her hair and gazing longingly at Mr. Schue; she obviously unaware that he was currently dating Coach Beiste. Mike and Tina were making out. Brittany was styling Artie's very short hair. Santana was crossing her arms coldly, and staring at them from out of the corner of her eye. Trey didn't mind that she was ignoring him. Rachel was resting her head on Finn's shoulder. Quinn was telling Alyssa about the last two years at Sectionals, and Bryce was sitting by himself, staring at her. Kurt was also sitting by himself, thinking about the song he wrote.

The bus arrived at the theater, and New Directions got off of it.

In the lobby, Mercedes and Sam approached Kurt. "Hey," Mercedes said, and Kurt smiled weakly. They were the only two people who Kurt was going to try to be nice to today. "Do you mind if we look at your song?" Mercedes asked, and Kurt handed it over half-heartedly. Sam put his hands on Mercedes' shoulders and read the sheet music with her. "It sounds so sad," Mercedes said, turning back to Kurt, who just shrugged in response.

"I think it's good," Sam said encouragingly. "You'll do a great job."

"Thank you," Kurt said, smiling a little bigger. "I worked really hard on it."

"Who are the judges going to be?" Mercedes asked Sam, and he said, "I think Rod Remington, Sandy Ryerson, and April Rhodes." Mercedes' eyes widened, and Sam said, "Yeah, I'm surprised April's one of them." Mercedes shook her head.

"No, I can't believe Sandy Ryerson's one of them. That's weird," she pointed out.

Just then a beautiful girl who fit the description of Fleur Delacour in **Harry Potter And The Goblet Of Fire** approached the three teenagers. She had long blonde hair pulled back in a ponytail, and light blue eyes that matched her light blue dress. "Hello, you must be from New Directions," she said with a sparkly smile. "My name's Janie Whitman. I'm from Crawford Country Day. You're our competition. You're Sam Evans and Mercedes Jones, right?"

"Wow, what else do you know about us?" Mercedes was curious to know.

"I know you're Kurt Hummel," Janie said, turning to the boy holding his sheet music close to his chest. "I watched you perform 'Animal' with the Warblers a few months ago. I offered my number to that attractive guy Blaine Anderson, and he refused it. He told me he was gay. Only a little while later I found out that you started going out with him."

"Yes, Blaine is my boyfriend," Kurt said firmly, trying to hold his head high.

"Fine. I don't need him," Janie referred to Blaine. "I've already seen that several guys from your Glee Club have noticed me." Mercedes looked up in terror at Sam, who closed his jaw quickly. He'd been drooling over Janie. Finn, standing with Rachel, and Puck, standing with Lauren, and Mike, standing with Tina, and Artie, sitting with Brittany, had done the same. All of their girlfriends looked furious - except for Brittany, who also drooled at Janie.

Janie smirked with satisfaction, and turned around and walked away. She looked over her shoulder, and said, "Oh, and by the way, New Directions, it's old news that you guys write your own songs for competition. You're not the only ones to have done so. Both my school's club and Choral Explosion have written songs of our own. And I'll be singing the first one for my club. You don't stand a chance with Kurt having written your first."

New Directions was the second choir that would be performing, which was exactly what they didn't want. The first choir always set the bar, and the third choir was always the freshest in the judge's minds. The second choir was always forgotten. The girls of Crawford Country Day were first. The whole show opened with Janie Whitman. As the all girl's choir sang their second song, Kurt stood behind the curtain, taking deep breaths in and out. He hadn't warmed up like he usually would have.

"Everyone welcome to the stage… New Directions!" the MC announced, and the audience roared with approval. Everyone had been looking forward to seeing New Directions perform. After all, this was the choir that had won Sectionals two years in a row. The audience was expecting big things. The curtains opened, and Kurt stood there in the spotlight. Puck, Sam, and Mike were at stage right, and Trey, Bryce, and Artie were at stage left. Finn was on the ground in front of the audience, and all the girls were behind the auditorium, waiting for the chorus after the bridge to make their entrance. All the boys stood perfectly still, with their hands behind their backs. They looked down at their feet. During the first song they were only going to hum harmony to the song that Kurt had written. Kurt opened his mouth and began to sing the sad song he'd written about the past year, and about Blaine, whom he was so afraid of losing.

Some people in the audience were crying now, and so was Sandy Ryerson. Kurt kept singing. He held a note in the bridge as the girls started down the aisles, singing the chorus. Rachel joined Finn in front of the stage and took his hand. Brittany went to Artie and took his hand. Tina went to Mike, Santana went to Trey, Mercedes went to Sam, Quinn went to Bryce, Lauren went to Puck, and Alyssa went to Kurt. Kurt joined the girls in finishing the chorus.

Brittany started the next song. Then Artie, then Tina, then Finn, and then Santana. The group danced and sang together, and Rachel took over during the bridge.

. . . . . . . . . . . .

"That group of girls from Crawford Country Day was quite an attractive bunch," Rod Remington said, like a creeper.

"I already know I'm not good enough for you, Rod. You don't have to rub it in my face!" Sandy snapped bitterly.

"New Directions did an amazing job, as usual," April said, on Will's behalf.

"Very right you are, Miss Rhodes," Rod agreed. "That boy that sang the first solo had me reaching for my handkerchief. His song touched me; all about making mistakes, and trying to figure out how to fix them."

"Reminded me of when I came to the realization that I needed to stop cyber stalking boys on MySpace," Sandy sighed, and Rod and April gave him a look. "Three words for you: DE-PRESS-ING!"

"I'll give you that, Mr. Ryerson," Rod agreed. "It was a bit depressing. And something about their second song felt redundant to me."

"New Directions has done material like that before," Sandy said, nodding. "And those lyrics sounded like they were co written by a dumb blonde." (Well, Brittany did co write it.)

"Choral Explosion did a nice job," April changed the subject, not wanting to hear Will's Glee Club being bad-mouthed anymore.

"That they did, Miss Rhodes," said Rod, nodding his head in agreement.

"They had the pow!" Sandy said exuberantly, fist-pumping in the air.

"Well, who won Sectionals last year?" Rod asked curiously.

"It was a tie," April explained. "New Directions and the Warblers. Both went to Regionals, and New Directions beat the Warblers and went to Nationals."

"So New Directions has won Sectionals twice?" Rod said, raising an eyebrow.

"Yes," April said, and then Rod went on, "And Dalton Academy did not place at Regionals, hmm… I don't know about you two, but I think this year is good for a private school team. What do you say to giving the prize to the girls from Crocker Country Day?"

"As long as you don't say they're pretty again, I will gladly give them the prize," Sandy said, nodding in a surrendering fashion.

"I vote New Directions," April said, caring about Will.

"Well, we don't," Sandy challenged her. "Sorry, sister."

"Hope you'll still consider dating me," Rod said, winking at April.

A few minutes later, the three judges stepped up on the stage with the Glee Clubs and Rod stepped to the front. "The winners of Sectionals 2011 are the ladies from Crawford Country Day!" There were dozens of squealing girls hugging each other and jumping up and down.

Rachel's jaw dropped in horror. She and Janie locked eyes. Janie smirked wickedly, and accepted the trophy from Rod after kissing him on the cheek. Rachel crossed her arms and shook her head. As New Directions exited the building, she said, "Thanks a lot, Kurt."

Kurt turned around to look at her and smiled sarcastically. "So this is my fault?"

"Yes, it is!" Rachel snapped. "You depressed them! That's why we lost!"

"Rachel, our losing had absolutely nothing to do with Kurt," Mr. Schuester said, placing a comforting hand on Kurt's back. "The judges probably thought that because we won two years in a row, another group should get a chance."

Santana crossed her arms and spoke up, "I'm telling you, the whole thing was rigged. The judges hate us. That's why we lost. Rod Remington went out with Sue Sylvester, and he knows she coaches at our school. Sandy's hated our Glee Club since he was fired from his job as director, and April Rhodes is bitter about you quitting on her for her big Broadway show."

"This thing is not rigged, guys," Mr. Schue said, rolling his eyes. "This is show business. You're going to hear a million no's in your life if you continue living in this field, and if you can't handle that, then you can't handle the life of a performer."

"No Sectionals means no Regionals, which means no Nationals," Sam said sadly.

"Now all our newbies won't be able to see what the bigger competition's like," Puck pointed out. Bryce and Trey both looked disappointed.

"I'm sorry guys," Mr. Schue apologized to the two of them. "But, Bryce, you're a freshman, and Trey, you're a sophomore. You both have time in the future to see."

"Yeah, but this is our senior year," Santana pointed out, gesturing to herself and Puck. "I wanted to go out with a bang. And for me, a bang is a win at Nationals."

"I'm sorry," Mr. Schue sighed tiredly. "You guys have every reason to be upset. But you should be proud of yourselves. You were great up there."

"A lot better than that school of lesbians," Trey muttered, and Santana blushed.

New Directions climbed onto the bus, and sat quietly on the way back to McKinley. Will shook his head and gazed out the window in depression. Sue will be happy to hear we lost, he thought to himself. Emma sat down beside him and smiled. "Hi."

"Hey," Will replied, smiling weakly back at her in response.

"I'm so sorry you lost," Emma said softly. "The kids were great."

"I know they are," Will agreed. "And I thought… with April there… there might have been some hope for us. Maybe Santana's right. Maybe it was rigged. I thought Sandy was fine with our Glee Club, after he donated his drug money to Mike's brainiacs team. But maybe he hates us again. Maybe April is mad about Crossrhodes, and I don't know about Rod -"

"It wasn't rigged, Will," Emma said, taking his hand. "But it wasn't fair."

Will slowly took his hand from Emma's grip. "There's something I have to tell you," he took a deep breath, "I'm seeing someone."

Emma couldn't hide her shock and disappointment. "Um, oh… Who?"

"Shannon," Will replied, and Emma looked down at her lap in embarrassment.

"You're dating Coach Beiste," Emma said, but she was speaking so quietly that she was practically talking to herself.

"Yes," Will said, nodding. "I apologize if inviting you to join us at Sectionals led you on. Kurt really needed your guidance. His mother's been dead for many years. He needs a maternal figure in his life. I should have told you sooner about me and Shannon."

"Why, Will?" Emma couldn't hide the tears that were now welling up in her eyes. "Why is it that you get with someone every time I realize I want you?"

Will didn't know how to respond. "I'm so sorry, Emma. I really am."

"Don't be," Emma snapped. "Don't be sorry. Don't apologize. Just make sure that Coach Beiste knows how lucky she is. Does she? Does she know?"

"Yes. She knows," Will said.

"Good," said Emma, standing up and starting off. "That's all I wanted to hear."

. . . . . . . . . . .

**Author's Note: As I've said many times, this story is very old. The only thing that keeps me updating it is that I posted the first few chapters already, and it would be wrong just to delete it out of nowhere. I wrote this before hearing *possible SPOILER ALERT* that Blaine is going to transfer to McKinley in the first episode of season three. I hope some of you like this story, even if it's really old. By the way, I don't think Rod is Sandy's type, but I thought it would be kind of funny to have him flirt with him, months ago, of course, when I wrote this. **


	7. Happy Holidays

**Rated T for offensive language, mild sex themes, scattered violence, offensive nicknames, and drama. **

**I'll post author's notes at the end of every chapter.**

**. . . . . . . . . . . . . **

**Happy Holidays **

"Hello, hot stuff," Janie said seductively, sitting beside Blaine at a lounge on karaoke night. Blaine was already sitting with Alyssa and Quinn. Janie put a hand on his shoulder, and he shook it off. "They're singing duets up there, Blainey. We rock duets. Think of last December when we sang 'Baby, It's Cold Outside' at the Kings Island Christmas Spectacular."

"You weren't the only person I sang that song with," Blaine pointed out.

Janie scoffed. "Who? Kurt? That would have been hot, but he can't sing better than -"

"He has a gorgeous voice, Janie," Blaine snapped.

"Yeah, gorgeous for a woman's voice," Janie muttered. "Come on, just sing with me."

"I don't want to sing with you," Blaine said coolly.

Janie sat back and crossed her arms. "A guy would kill to sing with me."

"Well, I'm not like other guys. Remember? I'm gay," Blaine said with a sarcastic smile. "I don't want to sing with you. I don't even want to talk to you. You're a horrible person. I wonder if anyone's ever told you that."

"People that are jealous of me," Janie said to the side. Alyssa was secretly enjoying watching a girl like Janie getting the cold shoulder from a boy as gorgeous as Blaine, whether Blaine was gay or not. "So you really don't want to sing tonight?" Janie persisted.

Blaine shook his head. "No, I do want to sing. Just not with you."

"Then who do you want to sing with?" Janie asked curiously, raising an eyebrow.

"I want to sing with Alyssa," Blaine said, smiling kindly at the shy girl. Alyssa's heart pounded hard. Janie laughed.

"Wait. Her?" she said, pointing at Alyssa. "You'll sing with her and not me? That's like… hooking up with Jennifer Aniston when you can have Angelina Jolie!"

"I hear she has a nice voice," Blaine said. He took her to the front of the lounge, and Alyssa panicked. There were so many people just staring at them. She tried to pull herself free from Blaine's grip, but he gave her wrist a tight squeeze and grabbed, first a microphone for her, and then one for himself. "Ah, here's a good one," he said, looking at the song title that came up.

Quinn grinned at Janie, who was slumped miserably in her chair.

Blaine began, _"Oh, the weather outside is frightful, but the fire is so delightful. But since we've no place to go: let it snow! Let it snow! Let it snow! It doesn't show signs of stopping, and I've brought some corn for popping. The lights are turned way down low." _He winked, and Alyssa blushed._ "Let it snow! Let it snow! Let it snow!"_

Alyssa took a deep breath and carried on from where he left off, _"When we finally kiss good night, how I'll hate going out in the storm. But if you really hold me tight, all the way home I'll be warm. Now the fire is slowly dying, and, my dear, we're still good byeing. But as long as you love me so: let it snow! Let it snow! Let it snow!" _

Then Blaine and Alyssa sang together, _"When we finally kiss good night, how I'll hate going out in the storm. But if you really hold me tight, all the way home I'll be warm. Oh, the weather outside is frightful, but the fire is so delightful. And since we've no place to go: let it snow! Let it snow! Let it snow! Let it snow! Let it snow! Let it snow! Let it snow, let it snow, let it snow."_ When they finished, everyone in the lounge applauded. Blaine flashed his gorgeous pearly-whites at Alyssa, and she quickly looked away. She smiled shyly at the audience.

"You make a great duet partner," Blaine said, he leaned forward and kissed her softly on the cheek. Alyssa sighed after Blaine walked away. A boy had just kissed her cheek – a gay boy, but still. She felt pathetic for being so excited about that.

"Now hold up," Santana said, holding up a hand. She was sitting a few tables away from where Quinn was sitting. "Did Hobbit just kiss her?"

Trey shrugged his shoulders. "That's what it looked like to me."

"Hobbit's gay. What the hell?" Santana wanted to know.

"It was to be friendly," Trey suggested. "It wasn't on the lips."

"Nah. I don't believe it. I feel like I'm seeing things, or at least I felt like I was seeing things. Until you proved to me that I wasn't crazy," Santana said, trying to shake the image of Blaine kissing Alyssa from her mind.

Quinn and Alyssa stood up and walked over to pour themselves some more hot chocolate. Santana tapped Quinn on the shoulder to get their attention. "Hey guys. Happy holidays," she said with a false, sweet smile. "I was hoping you would come over and hang."

"Hello, Santana," Quinn said, attempting to be polite. She smiled at Trey. "Hi."

"The way you're hanging out makes it look like a regular girl's night out, but Alyssa could tell me otherwise," Santana said. "I just saw her kissing Blaine. You go girl. You must feel awfully accomplished, having been the girl to turn a gay guy straight and all. Quinn must feel awkward being around you on such a romantic night. Where's your man Jesse, Q?"

"It's not a romantic night for Alyssa. Blaine just kissed her on the cheek because he enjoyed singing a duet with her. Jesse had plans tonight," Quinn said. Actually, Jesse had refused to come with the girls tonight because he'd seen Alyssa before, and told Quinn that he couldn't be in the same room with her without saying something condescending and hurtful. It was good he wasn't present.

"Aw, what a shame," Santana said, placing a hand on her heart. "I would have liked to see Jesse. He's just my favorite person in the world, you know." Ha. That was far from true. Santana had hated Jesse St. James from the day he criticized her 'Back To Black' performance.

"I'm actually glad to be away from him," Quinn said. "He's kind of possessive. I hate it when guys are like that."

"Don't I know it," Santana laughed, continuing to play the 'straight girl' role.

"It's colder than usual out this December," Trey pointed out, shivering from the chilly air when the door opened. Brittany entered the lounge, pushing her boyfriend in his wheelchair. She smiled widely when she saw the four people from Glee that were there.

"Oh my gosh! Santana! Trey, Alyssa, Quinn. What a surprise!" she said excitably.

Santana's heart broke the way it did every time she saw Brittany with Artie. "Hi!"

She stood up and gave the girl of her dreams a huge hug, but then tore away as quickly as possible so it wasn't obvious she was a lesbian. Artie still knew. He'd had a feeling for a while now. He watched Santana cautiously as she sat back down beside her "boyfriend" Trey.

"What do you guys want from Santa this year?" Brittany asked, sitting down as well.

Alyssa looked at Artie, and he shook his head urgently at her, so she said, "Um, I'm not sure, actually. Haven't really thought about it."

"I want Jesse to stop telling me I'm beautiful every five minutes," Quinn chuckled.

"A car," Trey laughed.

_You,_ Santana thought, gazing dreamily into Brittany's dark blue eyes.

"I want It's A Small World," Brittany explained. "I want the actual ride in my bedroom so I can hear the song whenever I want."

Things just became better (or more awkward) when Mike and Tina entered the lounge!

"Wow!" Mike said excitedly, and Brittany waved them over to the table.

Tina looked uncomfortable when she made eye contact with Artie. He returned a worried look that Santana noticed. She knew that Tina and Artie were starting to get feelings for each other again, which was wonderful. Brittany would be free from four-eyes' crippled clutches in no time. Tina clung tightly to Mike, and the two of them stood next to Quinn and Alyssa between the cups of hot chocolate and the table Santana, Trey, and Brittany sat at.

"Mike, what do you want for Christmas?" Brittany asked cheerfully.

"Taylor Lautner to stop modeling for posters and magazine covers," Mike chuckled wishfully. "Everyone knows my abs are better than his."

"I know that's true," Brittany said, and Alyssa nodded in agreement.

Puck and Lauren came in after that, and Brittany almost screamed with excitement.

"Who planned this?" she asked, grabbing Santana's shoulders and shaking her enthusiastically. Santana turned red in the face with admiration, and quickly looked away from the girl she loved. "I love this!" Brittany said, letting go of Santana and giving Puck and Lauren a high five. "How is it that everyone's here? Did everyone know to be here?"

"Was there a memo on facebook or something?" Mike asked. "I didn't even see it."

"Oh, he's in a dentist office in Sydney, Australia," Brittany assured him. "Don't worry. Marlin and Dory will find him."

Mike exchanged a confused look with Tina. Santana laughed into her hand.

"Happy Hanukkah, ya'all," Puck said, putting his arm around Lauren's shoulders.

Just then the door opened again and Finn and Rachel entered the lounge! Brittany jumped up from her seat, ran over, and gave them both a big hug. "Look at our big happy family!" she said, putting her arms around them. Everyone cheered for them.

"I expect this kind of reaction every time I enter a room," Rachel beamed.

Behind Finn and Rachel entered Mr. Schue and Coach Beiste! "Oh my goodness, how awkward," Artie laughed, but he clapped his hands and said, "Mr. Schue! Coach Beiste!"

"Wow, isn't this a surprise?" Mr. Schue exclaimed, grinning widely at his students.

"Happy holidays, you guys!" Coach Beiste added with a smile on her face.

"Who knew everyone was gonna be here tonight?" Mr. Schue asked.

"Not quite everyone," Quinn said. "No Kurt, Mercedes, Sam, or Bryce."

"Someone text 'em," Puck suggested. "The party doesn't start 'til everyone's here."

Everyone got out their cell phones and sent text messages to Kurt, Mercedes, Sam, and Bryce and told them where they were so that they would stop by too. "Anyone get a text back?" Mr. Schue asked five minutes later while everyone was still waiting for them.

"Yeah, me, I did," Brittany said, raising her hand. "Mercedes said they're coming."

"Who?" Mr. Schue asked.

"Mercedes, Sam, and Kurt," Brittany replied.

"I got Bryce," Finn volunteered. "He said he's on his way. He's almost here now."

The door opened, and Bryce entered the lounge. Brittany nearly smothered him when she jumped on and hugged him. New Directions cheered, and then five minutes later Mercedes, Sam, and Kurt walked in the door. Alyssa observed Kurt's long red winter coat. His pink lips and ivory skin looked pretty after having been outside in the cold air. Sam's blond hair was neat, and he was dressed in a blue coat. Mercedes' coat was a sassy pink color.

"What do you guys want for Christmas? From Santa?" Brittany asked eagerly.

Mercedes and Sam chuckled. Mercedes said, "Non-fattening French fries?"

"Blond hair dye that doesn't fade every few weeks," Sam pointed out.

"You want me to ask Santa for something?" Kurt asked, making a face. "Fine. Well, I may as well start praying and accept Jesus into my heart too while I'm at it." Quinn frowned.

"Nice Christmas spirit, Kurt," Brittany said with a frown, and Mr. Schue sighed.

"Come on, Kurt. It's December. 'Tis the season to be jolly," he reminded him.

"Right. Christmas." Kurt nodded. "The holiday celebrating the birth of a fictitious man who screwed up my entire life. Such a special occasion."

"You're kinda ruining the mellow here," said Puck, who had been in a good mood.

"I'm sorry," Kurt apologized. "But there's nothing for me to be thankful about this year. I've just been really stressed out lately. Tell Santa he can kidnap a GAP employee named Jeremiah and hold him hostage in the North Pole."

"You'll never guess who was kissing Blaine tonight," Santana said, smirking at Alyssa, who shook her head pleadingly. Kurt chuckled bitterly.

"Jeremiah, right? Yeah, I know. Where are they now? I'd like to see them."

"Blaine left a little while ago," Quinn said, staring cautiously at Santana, ready to get into a mad cat fight if she dared tell Kurt about Blaine's kissing Alyssa.

"Oh. You should have told him I said hi," Rachel said with a big smile.

Everyone gave her a look, and then Kurt shook his head and sat down at a nearby table. "I know everyone's real excited about us all being here, but I just can't get excited the way I used to be able to. I enjoy being in the company of all of you, but please respect that I don't feel like talking right now."

Everyone ignored Kurt for most of the evening and engaged in more cheerful conversations and topics. Most everyone was crowded around the table that Santana, Trey, Brittany, and now Puck, Lauren, Finn, and Rachel were sitting at. Sam, Mercedes, and Bryce were on their knees against the table, and Quinn, Alyssa, Mike, and Tina were still standing. Mr. Schue and Coach Beiste were standing beside them, and Artie was in his wheelchair next to Brittany's seat. Mr. Schue was talking enthusiastically to Mike about his mad dance skills.

Somewhere during the get-together, Santana stood up and walked over to Kurt's table. Alyssa turned around and watched in horror as Santana sat down beside the beautiful boy, and whispered something in his ear. After Santana spoke, she looked up and smirked wickedly right at Alyssa. Alyssa clenched her fists when she saw Kurt's reaction. He glared at her. He glared at her in a way that told her he hated her. Hated her with a passion. All Alyssa knew at that moment was that the boy she was in love with hated her, and that she hated Santana. _Santana had lied about her! _Kurt probably thought that Blaine had kissed Alyssa on the lips the way that he'd kissed Rachel in February when he was drunk, and Alyssa was too shy to tell him otherwise. Alyssa decided that she would stay glued to Quinn's hip when she left the lounge that evening in hopes that Kurt wouldn't catch and strangle her to death with his collection of designer scarves. That would be a hot way to die, but still, she wanted to live a little longer.

Tina and Artie couldn't stop glancing at each other every few seconds. They made sure they did it while Mike and Brittany weren't paying attention, even though they didn't really have to worry about Brittany. If she saw them looking at each other, she wouldn't think anything of it. Mike had his arm around Tina all night, so it was obvious that he adored her with all his heart. Tina regretted having feelings for Artie; she wanted to adore Mike as much as he adored her. Yes, she loved Mike. But she also loved Artie. More. Why? Artie was small and nerdy, and he couldn't do the things for her that Mike could. Mike was handsome, built, and cool. But Artie brought her back to the beginning of New Directions. He'd been there along with her for the ride since day one, and they'd gone through so much together.

Slowly, the Gleeks left. Puck and Lauren were the first couple to leave, followed by Finn and Rachel. Bryce left next, and Sam, Mercedes, and Kurt left after him. Then Quinn and Alyssa went, and then Artie, Brittany, Santana, Trey, Mike, and Tina. Mr. Schue and Coach Beiste were the last from McKinley there. "Wow," Mr. Schue said, smiling. "I did not expect to see everyone here tonight. I guess we all really do think alike."

Coach Beiste smiled weakly. "I know you wanted to see this as a happy evening, Will," she said, "but I could sense hurt and pain from several of the students. Not everyone was happy, and I know you could feel it too. Honestly, only a few of them had Christmas spirit."

Will nodded. "I did feel it, Shannon. Kurt's been miserable for months, and it's depressing. He used to be so full of joy and life. Maybe he should have stayed at Dalton. It was doing good things for him, while he was there."

"His attitude has taken a toll on some of the other students as well," Coach Beiste said.

"Yes, Alyssa always seems concerned about him," Will noticed. "And Santana and Bryce seem upset. Tina and Artie seem uneasy. What is it? What is going on? We're a family. I wish they would share their problems with me; I really do. I don't know what it is; is it Sectionals? Everything's falling a part here. They could at least tell Miss Pillsbury –"

Coach Beiste stiffened at the mention of Miss Pillsbury, and Will shook his head. He could tell she thought he had feelings for Emma. Well, he did. Truth be told. But he was never going to act upon those feelings. Never again. "Look," he said with a smile. He gazed up at the ceiling, at the evergreen decoration right above them. "Mistletoe." They kissed each other.

"Merry Christmas, Will," Coach Beiste said, and then Will took her hand. The two of them left the lounge together.

. . . . . . . . . . . .

_Dear Journal, William Schuester doesn't want Shannon Beiste. He doesn't want Emma Pillsbury. He doesn't want April Rhodes, Shelby Corcoran, Terri Delmonico, Holly Holiday, or Brenda Castle. No. William Schuester wants Sue Sylvester. I am simply writhing with agony. When is he going to come to the realization that he's wasting his time with She-Hulk? When is he going to realize that he wants me? I already know the answer to that question, Journal. He knows. He knows right now. He's just denying it because he knows it will never work out between us. He knows better than to have feelings for a married woman. He learned his lesson well after having had lusted after Elmo while she was married to that dentist. I am married, Journal. I'm married, and he's intimidated because I am a strong-willed, independent woman in a position of power. _

"There's someone here to see you, Coach!" Becky announced from the doorway of Sue's office.

"Well, bring 'em in," Sue instructed, and when Becky did, Sue scowled.

"My darling!" Doris Sylvester exclaimed, spreading her arms, gesturing in a way that said she wanted to give her daughter a hug. "It's almost Christmas, and I haven't seen you for quite a while! Why don't you stand up and give your ol' mother a hug?"

"Have you even heard, Mother?" Sue snapped. "Do you even know?"

"Know what?" Doris asked.

"About Jean," Sue answered. "Do you even know that she died?"

"Oh yeah, I heard all about that," Doris said, and Sue's blood boiled with hatred.

So? So that was it? Just an 'Oh yeah, I heard all about that'? No 'Oh my goodness, I'm so sorry about that!' Not even a 'Yes, it broke my heart!' Did Doris even care that her oldest daughter had passed away earlier that year? Or was she actually glad? Relieved that she no longer had to worry about an offspring with Down's Syndrome? "Please leave, Mother."

"Hey, I just got here!" Doris pointed out, throwing her hands up defensively.

"Yes, and I just asked you to get out!" Sue barked. "I'm already haunted enough by you in my thoughts. I don't need you to haunt me in my own office."

"Is it your time of month or something?" Doris demanded to know. "Because I thought at your age, you'd be through menstruating already."

Sue hated her mother more and more with every word she uttered. "Get out!"

"I'll be out of your hair once you tell me what your problem is," Doris promised.

"My problem is you, Mom," Sue said, standing up and intimidating her mother. She was much taller, even if she wasn't any scarier. "Always has been. Always will be. You're the reason I'm so cruel to people. I thought I expressed this to you at my wedding. Obviously I wasn't clear enough, or else you wouldn't be here standing in front of me right now."

"I came here to wish my only living daughter a merry Christmas," Doris said.

"How does it make you feel, Mom?" Sue was curious. "Do you feel shamed at all that your daughter died before you? That the child had to go before the mother? Do you have any regrets? Does it mean anything to you?"

"You want me dead. That's what I think you're telling me," Doris said, crossing her arms. "I can't change the fact that it was Jean's time to go. It's not my fault! I didn't kill her!"

It was all Sue could do not to cry. "No, but you were never there to comfort her while she needed you. You've always been embarrassed by her, Mother. You will never admit it, but you were. You were always embarrassed to have a child with a disability. You were embarrassed by her the way you were embarrassed by me. And now that I'm finally done mourning, and I've come to terms with Jean's death, you've come back to throw me right back into that grievous state of depression! My life is difficult enough. You don't have to do this to me!"

"Do what to you?" Doris shouted. "It's not my fault that I walk into a room, and all you can think of is Jean. I'm not Jean, Sue. And you shouldn't go off on me just because I wasn't there at her funeral. I didn't even find out she was dead until after the funeral!"

"You could have known beforehand," Sue chuckled bitterly. "Maybe I would have told you about her death if you had been a better mother to her. Tell me this, Mom: How many times do I have to say I hate you until you finally take a hint and never come back to torture me ever again? I want you out of Lima. I want you out of Ohio. I want you out of the United States. I want you back in Israel. I want you anywhere else; hunting Nazis as you should be."

"Fine." Doris redeemed herself and collected every bit of dignity she'd had before entering this office. "I won't wish you a merry Christmas then. I hope you have the worst Christmas ever, like you deserve. You are a terrible daughter, Sue. I wish you every bit of misery and woe that there is on this planet."

"I should have enough to make up for your lack of it," Sue said with a scowl.

"Good bye, Sue," Doris said, turning around and heading toward the door. "This time, when I leave, I'm never coming back. You won't be able to change your mind and beg for me to come back." Sue shook her head firmly.

"You don't have to worry, Mother. I'll never beg for you to come back," she promised.

"Be that way." Doris glared for a second at Becky, and then exited the office.

"Are you alright, Coach?" Becky asked in the stunned silence. Sue was always upset, but Becky had never seen her like this. Sue shook her head.

"No, I'm not okay, Becky," she said honestly. "I hate the holidays. Christmas is supposed to be beautiful, but it's terrible all at the same time. It brings back unwanted memories and family members. All I know is that I never want to see that woman again."

"I'm sorry, Coach," Becky said quietly, and Sue smiled kindly at her.

"You have nothing to be sorry about, Becky," she said. "If anyone deserves to have a merry Christmas, it's you."

. . . . . . . . . . . .

"Finn's not here," Kurt told Rachel at the front door. "He went Christmas shopping. He asked me to come with, but I just wasn't really in the mood. I feel bad. He desperately needs my help."

"Well, I came to give him a present," Rachel said, holding a small box. Inside was a brand new football. She'd seen the old, battered one he kicked around in the backyard. "Even though Christmas presents aren't really my thing; I'm more of a Hanukah-kind-of person. But after putting lots of thought into it, I've come to accept that my boyfriend is Christian."

Kurt smiled. "Why don't you come in? As funny as it would be to watch, I don't believe you deserve to freeze out there in the cold."

Rachel laughed, and entered the house. "Kurt, are we friends?"

"Sometimes I think so," Kurt sighed, going over to the kitchen and pouring some hot chocolate for the guest. "But sometimes I can't stand you. I suppose that's only natural. After all, you and I are the two biggest divas in Glee Club."

"You're more popular than I am," Rachel pointed out. "You've always known that."

Kurt nodded. "But you're more talented, as much as I hate to admit it."

"I may not always act like it, but I really care about you, Kurt," Rachel said.

Kurt handed her the hot chocolate and smiled weakly. "I know."

"I talked to Quinn, which is something I wouldn't normally do," Rachel exhaled.

"What about?" Kurt was curious.

"Alyssa," Rachel replied, and Kurt rolled his eyes. Rachel continued, "She sang a duet with Blaine at the karaoke bar. He kissed her on the cheek, and Santana decided to sabotage her by telling you that it was something more than that. Quinn said that Alyssa was too sad to tell you herself."

Kurt's facial expression softened. "She's a nice girl," he sighed. "I can't believe she would let someone walk all over her like that."

"You mean like you let Karofsky walk all over you?" Rachel asked.

"You don't know anything about me and Karofsky," Kurt said quietly.

"Actually, I do," Rachel argued. "Burt told Finn, and Finn told me."

Kurt's eyes widened for a split second. "Well, I knew it was going to get around eventually," he said in defeat. "Does everyone know now?"

"A few other people," Rachel winced apologetically. "I only told them because Karofsky's been picking on you again. It's weird; he started out senior year attending a few of your PFLAG meetings, and now he's a jerk again. He's dating that Riley girl." Kurt chuckled darkly, and Rachel smiled weakly. "Merry Christmas, Kurt."

"Happy Holidays, Rachel Berry," he replied, and they raised their hot chocolates.

. . . . . . . . . . . .

**Author's Note: Don't worry. I'm going to update "TwiLight It Up!" very soon. I've been extremely busy lately; learning to drive and going back to school. The only reason I'm updating this is because I wrote it back in June. I'm not sure when, but soon I'm going to post on my profile page the titles of future Glee fiction I'm going to write and post on . Again, I'm not sure when it'll be, but I've got a lot of Glee stuff coming up. The Sue scene was very dramatic. :/ **


	8. Other Option

**Rated T for offensive language, mild sex themes, scattered violence, offensive nicknames, and drama. **

**I'll post author's notes at the end of every chapter.**

**. . . . . . . . . . . . . **

**Other Option**

_Alyssa decided she had enough after months of observing all the Glee girls with their boyfriends, so she took a deep breath, composed herself, and said, "I have a question for the guys… do any of you think I'm pretty?" _

_ There was an awkward silence in the Glee classroom. Not one boy said a word. Alyssa nodded, and turned to Mr. Schue. "I've made my decision. I'm quitting Glee, and joining the Cheerios. Maybe Coach Sylvester will appreciate me more than anyone in here does."_

_ "Alyssa," Mr. Schue tried to stop her, but she was out the door._

_ "Great," Tina said, turning to Mike. "This is what I didn't want to happen."_

_ Quinn shook her head. She wanted to follow her out and talk to her, but she figured it wouldn't do anything._

Alyssa took in the spring heat as she stepped onto the crowded field and felt the slight breeze under her short Cheerios skirt. It was a much different atmosphere. She was used to cool auditoriums and creative, flamboyant people. Not people that were more physical than mental. As intimidated by overly dramatic divas like Rachel Berry as she was, she had to admit that it was judgmental athletes that scared her most. She looked over at the other cheerleaders like Riley and Tristan, all gossiping amongst themselves with so much energy she could have sworn that they'd just drunken fifteen gallons of caffeine.

"Good decision, quittin' Glee." Azimio lifted his hand and offered a high five, so Alyssa gave him one.

"Thanks," she said cautiously. She waited until Azimio was a few steps away before saying, "Hey Karofsky."

Karofsky turned. He snorted. "Did you just speak to me?"

Alyssa nodded. She clenched her fists around her pompoms. "Stay away from Kurt."

"You like him, don't you?" Karofsky chuckled, coming back over and towering over her. "Lemme tell you something, bitch. I may be 'dating' Riley, but you, I, Hummel, and his butt buddy Bland all know that his sweet ass is mine. I don't mind hitting a girl. If you say anything about this to anyone, or you try to mess me up with Kurt, I will beat you senseless. You got me?"

Alyssa didn't back down. "Yeah, I got you."

"Good." Karofsky smiled. "I'm glad we had this talk. I don't think we've ever had a proper introduction. Now I know we didn't need it. I'm glad I finally got to tell you the way I run things around here. Welcome to my world, sister."

Alyssa scowled as Karofsky walked away to meet up with his best friend.

Then she was approached by Sue Sylvester. "What are you doing standing here by yourself? What, are you a leper? Are the rest of my Cheerios not good enough for you?"

"N-no. That's not what I was thinking, Coach," Alyssa stammered. Coach Sylvester wasn't easy to approach like Mr. Schuester. "I was just thinking about something."

"Less thinking, more socializing," Sue snapped. "I gave you this opportunity so that you would be able to see what life is like for a champion. Not for sad, pathetic Glee Club kids. If you want to stay on my squad, you'd better drop the Plain Jane image, and transform into a siren. I thought Schuester would have taught you something worth while; turned you into a star. You've been a Cheerio for almost five weeks, and you haven't made one friend. And you can't get by just doing cartwheels and round offs. I need to see some back flips and high kicks."

"I've been trying, Coach," Alyssa promised. "It's just… really hard."

"You think that's hard?" Sue asked. "I'm at work with Swine Flu. That's hard."

Alyssa made a face, and then Sue shrugged her shoulders and walked away.

Practice ended. All the boys went to their locker room, and all the girls went to theirs.

"Have you had sex with Dave?" Alyssa overheard Tristan asking Riley.

"No. And I can't say I'm too upset about it," Riley replied honestly. "He's kind of a douche. The only reason I'm dating him is because he's on the football team, and he was prom king last year. Being with him has given me a huge coolness injection. I'm just glad he's not a Bully Whip anymore. That was totally lame. I wouldn't be dating him if he was."

"Has he never shown any interest in having sex?" Tristan asked curiously.

"Yeah," Riley said. "Sometimes when we're with a group of friends and someone starts saying innuendos and talking about doing it, he looks real uncomfortable. Especially when Zach asks him if he and I have hit the sack yet. Last night I told him he could touch my breasts if he really, desperately wanted to, and he said he would pass. What a freak."

_He's not gonna touch you because he likes boys,_ Alyssa thought to herself.

A few minutes later, Santana entered the locker room with her arms crossed.

"What are you doing here?" Riley asked her, making a face. "You're not a Cheerio."

"I used to be," Santana reminded her, and tried not to look at several girls that were currently changing clothes around her. "I'm here to talk to Alyssa. I want her back in Glee."

"She should be glad she's not in Glee anymore," Riley scoffed. "She's not cool yet, but by being on the Cheerios she's making some progress."

"What is it, Santana?" Alyssa asked, and Santana turned to see Alyssa in her bra and underwear. The brunette grabbed her jeans and pulled them up slowly, whipping her brown ponytail out of her eyes. Santana looked away from Alyssa's breasts and up at her eyes.

"You heard me," she said, blushing. "I want to talk to you about Glee."

Alyssa shrugged and put her shirt on. "Then talk."

Santana walked over to her, and waited a moment for Tristan and Riley to leave the area and go to the showers. Santana whispered, "You still haven't gotten a boyfriend –"

Alyssa rolled her eyes. "Not that it really matters, but I'm not a lesbian, Santana. I've already told you that before. I guess I'm not exactly a girly-girl, but that doesn't mean I'm playing for the other team."

"I am," Santana said very quietly. "I just want to be with someone."

Alyssa's eyes widened in surprise, and she looked at the Latina before her with the most understanding expression she could. "I understand that you're lonely, Santana. But that doesn't change the fact that I'm interested in boys. I'm straight, and I can't change that."

"Fine. Whatever." Santana scowled. "I thought there was a chance that there was someone else like me, but I guess not."

"I already told you," Alyssa reminded her, and she walked away quickly so that she didn't have to see Santana get even more mad. Santana stood there for ten minutes, crying. Not about Alyssa. She didn't matter that much. Just about the hopelessness of her orientation.

"Santana?" said the voice of an angel. Brittany ran into the locker room, and wrapped her arms around her best friend. "I thought I'd find you here. I ran into Alyssa. She told me everything." _She's already so quick to tell everyone, _Santana thought bitterly to herself, but then she realized she deserved it. It didn't matter that Brittany knew. She'd known for a while now. But now everyone in Glee was going to get an earful. But Santana really did deserve it, after having told Kurt about Alyssa getting kissed by Blaine. "She doesn't deserve you."

"I don't deserve anyone," Santana sobbed, trying to pull free from her dream girl.

"That's not true," Brittany disagreed, shaking her head.

"Yes it is!" Santana snapped. "You love Artie. And ever since you started dating him, I've been nothing but the other option. Something to fall back on when he made a mistake. You don't belong with the four-eyed loser, Britt. He wants that Asian girl, and I want you. I knew Alyssa was straight. I made a stupid choice by coming here. I feel like an idiot."

"You know what? That's it," Brittany decided. "I'm gonna break up with Artie. You're right. I love him, but I love you more. Now it won't matter if everyone finds out you're Lebanese because at least you'll have me."

Santana felt like collapsing. "Are - are you serious? Y-you're really gonna do that?"

"Of course I am," Brittany said, giving her another hug. "You don't need to be scared anymore. I'm gonna be your knight with the shining arm, and you'll be my princess."

Santana smiled. Brittany was so cute. "You are the best person I've ever known."

Brittany smiled back, and the two of them left the locker room holding hands. They didn't care that half of the cheerleaders were staring at them… in disgust.

. . . . . . . . . . . .

Over in the boys locker room, Sam was washing his hair in the shower. He thought about everything that happened that day. He thought about having lunch with Mercedes. He thought about Glee Club. He thought about football. He thought about simple things, the way most boys did. And despite the fact that the water felt good and hot, Sam had a cold feeling inside his body. A cold feeling of discomfort, like he knew something bad was gonna happen. He couldn't shake the nasty feeling, and a shiver came over him when he grabbed his towel and wrapped it around his waist. His tan, muscled body and blond hair were wet and shiny, and he walked out of the shower room and over to his locker and the rest of the guys.

"Chill, dude," he said, patting Puck on the back. "You did not screw up that play."

"Thanks, but, yes I did," Puck chuckled. "We're never gonna win next week's game if I continue working that field like a ballerina. And Lauren promised she'd take me out for dinner if we win, so we'd better."

Sam laughed, and opened his locker. He suddenly felt tense, so he let out a groan and massaged his neck. He shook his head, allowing several water droplets to fly from his blond hair. And then, he felt eyes lingering on his shiny torso. He turned around and saw Karofsky.

"What are you looking at?" Sam asked curiously when the bully refused to turn away.

Dave panicked and turned away after he was spoken to. He pretended he hadn't been spoken to, and continued to change into his regular clothes. Sam felt violated. Usually things went right over his head; he never analyzed anything. Dave staring at him could have been nothing. But Sam began to put the puzzle pieces together: Dave refused to have a physical relationship with his girlfriend. Dave stalked and bullied the hell out of Kurt. Dave was always whining about gay people. Dave always seemed to be staring at him. Dave might be gay. Sam didn't really mind when Kurt ogled at him, but the thought of Dave doing it made him extremely uncomfortable. At one point, Sam once had a bruised face to prove what Dave was capable of.

"You were looking at me, weren't you?" Sam asked, his heart racing in his chest.

Karofsky finally looked at Sam and scoffed. "You aren't talking to me, are you? 'Cause you'd better not be, Glee boy. If you are, the Fury will bash your face the way he did last year."

"You think I don't know what's going on in your head?" Sam growled.

Puck, Mike, Artie, Bryce, Trey, and Azimio all looked up at them, startled to hear what was being said. Dave felt really awkward right now. "You don't know anything about me."

"Stare all you want," Sam said darkly. "Just don't touch me."

Dave slammed his locker shut, and slowly approached Sam in a predatory fashion. Sam panicked, grabbed his shirt from his own locker, and put it on. His towel fell down, and he bent over quickly to grab it. Then he covered himself again. Dave smiled and got very close to the blonds' face. "Stay away from me," Sam said, his voice breaking a little. He remembered the damage Karofsky had done to his face a year prior, and knew he could do worse.

"Hey! Karofsky!" Finn yelled, and Dave turned around and frowned at him.

"I didn't do anything!" he snapped. "Your buddy here is a freak! Probably likes me!"

Sam made a face, and Puck laughed out loud. "Are you crazy, Fury?"

"Why not?" Dave said, turning to look at him. "After all, you're all in Glee. I bet every single one of you is gay!"

"You're always so concerned about being gay," Mike pointed out, and Artie nodded.

"Hey, watch it," Dave growled, giving Mike an evil glare.

"Why is that, Karofsky?" Trey was curious to know.

"Well?" Bryce said loudly when Dave didn't answer.

"Because we're surrounded by all you fags all the time!" Azimio came to his best friend's rescue. "You're all leering at us in our locker room, and it's freaking creepy!"

"You've got to be kidding me," Finn said, shaking his hand. "There's only one gay person in this locker room, and he's the one person you would never guess."

"So it's the fag with the Mohawk, isn't it?" Azimio said, turning to Puck - the last person he would imagine as being gay.

"In your dreams," Puck scoffed, making a face. "I think we all know who it is."

All the football players/Gleeks did now. Karofsky shook his head at Finn.

"Really?" Azimio chuckled. "Humor me. Who is it?"

Finn shook his head. "I'm not gonna tell you. But he'd better watch it. That's a warning. As long as he doesn't do anything funny, his secret's safe with us."

Karofsky's eyes widened. He didn't believe that Finn would do that for him, even after all the pain he'd caused every member of the Glee Club.

. . . . . . . . . . . .

Blaine usually spent his evenings in his dorm at Dalton, but he'd texted Kurt and told him that tonight he would be home. Kurt got into his car and drove to Blaine's house. He knocked on the door, and it was answered by a pale man in his forties. He had Blaine's facial structure, and stern, but handsome features.

"Oh," he said, sounding a bit troubled after seeing Kurt there in front of him. He must have recognized him from Blaine's descriptions or from photos. "Blaine's upstairs."

"Thank you," Kurt replied politely. "I just want to talk to him."

"Alright," Mr. Anderson sighed tiredly. "Samantha, Blaine's… that boy is here."

Kurt never met Mr. Anderson before tonight, but he had met the Mrs. She was a petite woman with long black hair and dark skin; she was Filipino. "Hello, Kyle," she said with a polite smile. Kurt shook his head.

"Kurt," he corrected, and Mrs. Anderson chuckled with embarrassment.

"I'm so sorry," she apologized. "I'm horrible with names."

Kurt sighed. "It's okay."

"Come with me," Mrs. Anderson said, putting an arm around his shoulders and leading him to the kitchen. Mr. Anderson went outside to clean the pool. He'd called on his wife to deal with the gay boy for him. "I made Fediccini Alfredo for Blaine, and I've still got some left over. Why don't you have some?"

"Thank you. That is quite generous." Kurt wasn't particularly a fan of Fediccini Alfredo, and it did hurt a little to hear that Blaine's mother had not heard enough about him to remember his name. Mrs. Anderson handed him a bowl of her pasta, and he pretended to like it. "It's good."

Mrs. Anderson smiled in response, and said, "So how are you?" Kurt understood what she was trying to do. She was trying to distract him with conversation so that he wouldn't go upstairs and disturb her son.

"Difficult, actually." Kurt was finally going to be honest. "For some reason, I think Blaine's cheating on me. I've felt like this for months, and it's been eating me."

"I'm so sorry," Mrs. Anderson said apologetically. "Well, I don't think he's been cheating on you."

"That's what I'm here to find out, once and for all."

"Would you like something else to eat?" Samantha tried again.

"I want to talk to Blaine, please," Kurt said firmly. "It won't bother him. I just want to know the truth."

Mrs. Anderson gave a surrendering sigh. "Fine. Go upstairs."

"Thank you," Kurt said, and he stood up and walked upstairs. Then he knocked on Blaine's door.

"Kurt," Blaine said excitedly when the beautiful boy entered the room. He was sitting at his desk, looking through some papers. "I was waiting for you –"

"I just want to talk," Kurt interrupted him. "That's why I'm here."

"About what?" Blaine looked concerned.

"About Jeremiah," Kurt exhaled nervously. "A few months ago I read some of the texts he sent you, and it made me suspicious. I never told you."

"I wish you'd told me sooner," Blaine sighed, standing up and going over to his boyfriend. "I never cheated on you with Jeremiah. He wanted me to, but I refused. I loved you too much. You obviously didn't read the texts I sent him, because I told him that he needed to stop. I told him I wasn't interested."

"Really?" Kurt said, actually smiling for the first time in months.

"Really," Blaine said, also smiling. The two of them kissed each other's lips softly.

. . . . . . . . . . . .

Brittany took a deep breath and approached Artie's locker. "Hi."

"Hey," Artie said, smiling up at her. "What's up?"

"We need to talk," Brittany said, and a frown formed upon her boyfriend's face. "I care about you a lot, Artie. So much." Tears actually formed in the blonde's eyes. "But I'm breaking up with you."

"Why?" Artie wanted to know.

"Because…" Brittany took another deep breath. "I love Santana."

Artie nodded. His whole world was destroyed. "I always knew this would happen."

"You did?" Brittany asked in surprise.

"Yes. All the signs were there," said Artie. "Fine. Whatever. Just go off and be with Santana. I don't care anymore. I'm through with you."

"Artie," Brittany tried to comfort him, but he wheeled away down the hall.

Artie wiped his tears away with his sleeve, and then the worst thing happened. Tina turned the corner. The last person he wanted to see, especially when he was a crying mess! Of course Tina noticed him, and the tears. "Oh my gosh, Artie! Are you okay?" she gushed.

"No, I'm not, actually," Artie sniffed. "Brittany just broke up with me, for Santana."

"Oh, Artie," Tina said sympathetically. "I am so sorry. That's terrible."

"I knew it was gonna happen," Artie explained. "I've known all along, but now that it's happened, I'm alone. I haven't been single for a while now, and the only other girl in this world I want to be with, already has a boyfriend." He looked into Tina's eyes contemptuously.

Tina sighed and nodded. "Me, right? Me and Mike."

"Yes," Artie said bitterly. "Mike's a good friend of mine, and I like him and everything. But I don't like you and him together. He's good for you, but I'm good for you too."

"I know that," Tina said, taking his hands. "I'm so sorry I said you were a terrible boyfriend. I didn't mean it. I actually thought you were a wonderful boyfriend. You proved that to me in sophomore year. Those were good times, weren't they?" She smiled.

"I find myself furious about losing Brittany," Artie went on, "even though I knew it was meant to be this way. I thought I loved her, but now I'm not sure if I really loved her, or just the idea of her. The idea of being with someone hot, sexy, popular, and cool like her. Things were perfect when she was with me."

"You're going to find someone," Tina assured him, and Artie pulled his hands away.

"It's not that easy for me," he pointed out. "I'm a dork, and I'm in a wheelchair."

Tina sighed. "I love Mike. He's a part of me. He's like family. You're my best friend. And I admit that I miss you. Even when I'm with him. But he's such a good guy. He's the nicest football player, and he's never hurt anyone in his life. He thinks the world of me."

"So do I," Artie assured her. "And it would be easier for Mike to find someone else than it would be for me. He's… a hunk."

"I can't imagine Mike without me," Tina said, shaking her head. "He loves me. He would be crushed if I hurt him."

"But he would eventually find someone else," Artie persisted. "I just wish you and I could get together again. I wish we could go on a few dates, and I wouldn't mind if you hated them. I would always be okay with you telling me. I wish we could just ease into things, and pick up from where we left off. Before you suddenly dumped me after a summer at Asian Camp. I wish we could time-travel back to sophomore year."

"Hey, Tina. Artie," Mike said, turning the corner with a bright smile on his face.

"Hi, Mike," Tina said, smiling back at him. "We were just talking about Glee."

"Awesome," Mike said. "Oh, and Tina, my mom's cooking a dim sum meal for us we can eat later. Then we can watch **The King And I**. Our favorite movie musical."

Artie was overwhelmed by Asian-ness. Tina sighed. "That'll be great, Mike."

She took her boyfriend's hand and walked away with him. This time she didn't even turn around to look at Artie.

. . . . . . . . . . . .

"I've always loved your clothes, Quinn," Alyssa said, looking through her closet. "Every day I see you wearing these feminine dresses and cardigans, and I envy you. Since we're in a recession, I have no money to wear anything except for my brother's old sports jerseys. People tell me I dress like a macho boy, and I was never able to help it. I don't want to wear what Kurt made me buy, either. It's all too revealing, and it makes me feel exposed."

"I want you to borrow, like, four outfits," Quinn said, smiling kindly.

Alyssa turned around and looked at her gratefully. "Are you serious?"

"Of course," Quinn laughed. "Anyway, we're roughly the same size."

Alyssa grabbed a baby blue dress and cardigan that were similar to the pinks that Quinn was wearing. "May I try it on?" she asked, and Quinn nodded. After Alyssa got into the outfit, Quinn couldn't believe how feminine she looked. She gave her a thumbs-up.

"See. You look great. Wear that to school, and then wear something else from here."

"I wish I was like you, Quinn," Alyssa said sadly. "I've had friends who were like me. But after a while they became popular and beautiful like you, and they don't talk to me anymore. I just wanted to be like them."

"I wish I was like you," Quinn disagreed. "In sophomore year I was president of the Celibacy Club. I suppose no one told you I was pregnant."

"I never believed that," Alyssa scoffed, and then Quinn shook her head. Alyssa felt embarrassed. "Oh… wait. It was true? Y-you really were preg -"

"Didn't you see my daughter when Rachel's mom brought her to the auditorium?" Quinn asked. "Anyway, I should be the one feeling embarrassed. Before Puck and I went all the way, it had always been a vow of mine that I would wait until I was married. People expected so much of me, and I disappointed all of them. You still have yet to give yourself to the right person, Alyssa. You've never disappointed anyone."

"I loved Glee," Alyssa sighed.

"Then rejoin," Quinn insisted. "Everyone misses you."

"No," Alyssa decided. "I can't walk back in there. I can't handle myself when I see Kurt. Maybe I'll audition again next year, after he graduates."

"Okay," said Quinn. "Everyone wants you to come back, but I respect your decision if you decide not to. I'm just letting you know that I wasn't always this way, and I think you probably know that. I wasn't always nice. I used to be mean. I was a loser in middle school. Everyone hated me, and was mean to me because I didn't fit in. And so I became meaner when I started high school. But Glee changed me. And Glee can change your life too."

"I'm sorry," Alyssa apologized. "I'm not coming back. Not this year. Being on the Cheerios is enough for me."

She took four outfits from Quinn's closet, and then left the house quietly.

. . . . . . . . . . . .

**Author's Note: Only about four more chapters, and I'll have this whole story posted. This was the last one that you'll see Alyssa in; that's probably why she was in a lot of it. Eventually Bryce and Trey will be out of the picture as well, the way Riley and Tristan aren't in that much anymore. You might not see them again either. This story is so old, but I hope you enjoy it anyway… it's basically a bunch of predictions that I made about season three several months ago, but I don't think any of them are going to happen at this point. Maybe in the future I'll write another fic that includes the winners Samuel and Cameron from The Glee Project. I'm also considering writing a Glee/Rocky Horror crossover, but I wouldn't start on that until after I'm done with my Twilight crossover. Also, I want to write a story about Beth as a teenager, and also a dramatic Klaine story. These are all possible ideas! **


	9. Sexuality

**Rated T for offensive language, mild sex themes, scattered violence, offensive language, and drama. **

**I'll post author's notes at the end of every chapter.**

**. . . . . . . . . . . . . **

**Sexuality **

"How could you do this to me?" Santana demanded, storming over to Brittany's locker.

"What did I do?" Brittany was curious to know.

"You put that you were my girlfriend on facebook," Santana replied.

"I thought you wanted me to," Brittany said innocently.

"And what made you think that?" Santana scoffed.

"You said you wanted a girlfriend," Brittany reminded her. "So I'm your girlfriend."

"But I've got over five hundred people on my friend's list, and now all of them are going to know," Santana said, shaking with rage and terror. "I wanted a little more time before everyone found out, and now anyone who ever used to like me (if anyone has ever liked me) is going to think I'm nothing but a repulsive dyke -"

"You are not, Santana," Brittany promised, grabbing her hand. "I don't have a very good memory, but I do remember telling you that it didn't matter that everyone would find out because at least you'd have me. And I never saw you look happier than you did at that moment, so I thought it would be okay to out you on facebook. I thought that was what you wanted. I should have realized you needed more time. I'm so stupid."

She was so sweet. Santana smiled. "You are not stupid. You are an amazing girl. The best I've ever known. And I want so badly to be with you."

Brittany smiled back, lifted Santana's hand to her lips, and kissed it. "I want to be with you too, Santana. I told you I would be your knight with the shiny arm."

Santana laughed, and then a bunch of boys and girls walked by and stared at them. They must have seen what Brittany had posted on facebook. Some of them laughed at the two girls. Some of them pointed, some of them whispered, and some of them looked disgusted.

"This is exactly what I didn't want," Santana groaned. "The looks, the gossip, the -"

"What does it matter?" Brittany asked, shrugging her shoulders. "We're not cheerleaders anymore. We're in Glee Club. We're not popular. We're losers. They aren't treating us any differently than they've already been treating us."

Santana smiled weakly and said, "You're right. Now, let's go to class, together."

They held each other's hand firmly, never letting go. Santana took a deep breath, and stared down at her feet. _"I'm in serious shit. I feel totally lost. If I'm asking for help, it's only because being with you has opened my eyes. Could I ever believe such a perfect surprise?"_

Brittany kept her eyes ahead, never caring who walked by. _"I keep asking myself, wondering how. I keep closing my eyes, but I can't block you out. Wanna fly to a place where it's just you and me. Nobody else, so we can be free."_

Then the girls looked at each other. _"Nobody else, so we can be free. All the things she said, all the things she said, running through my head, running through my head, running through my head! All the things she said, all the things she said, running through my head, running through my head, all the things she said! This is not enough! This is not enough!" _

Santana closed her eyes tightly. _"And I'm all mixed up, feeling cornered and rushed. They all say it's my fault, but I want her so much. __Wanna fly her away where the sun and rain__  
><em>_Come in over my face, wash away all the shame.__"_

Brittany stayed strong. _"When they stop and stare don't worry me. 'Cause I'm feeling for her what she's feeling for me. I can try to pretend. I can try to forget. But it's driving me mad. Going out of my head!"_ They continued together, _"All the things she said, all the things she said, running through my head, running through my head, running through my head! All the things she said, all the things she said, running through my head, running through my head, all the things she said! Mother, looking_ _at me, tell me, what do you see? Yes, I've lost my mind. Daddy, looking at me, will I ever be free? Have I crossed the line? All the things she said, all the things she said, running through my head, running through my head, running through my head! All the things she said, all the things she said, running through my head, running through my head, all the things she said! This is not enough! This is not enough!" _

They stood in the classroom doorway, facing each other once more before they let go of each other's hand and walked over to their separate desks. All they gave one another was a smile, and as they parted, the only words each girl heard in her head was every word that the other had ever said to her. Ever since they'd met, become friends, best friends, and more.

. . . . . . . . . . . .

Trey didn't mind that Santana was a lesbian. He really didn't. What upset him was that the girl had dated him and then dumped him out of nowhere for another girl. She didn't have to be his girlfriend in the first place if she was a lesbian. She could have been honest with him and with herself, and just gone out with Brittany to begin with. He stared over at Artie, who was sitting all by himself. Brittany had dropped him like a pile of trash. Trey didn't care as much that Santana had blown him off as Artie cared that Brittany did. Artie loved Brittany. Honestly, Trey never really cared that much about Santana. He thought that she was overall hot and attractive, but there were other girls at McKinley High that did better for him. Brittany was so naïve that Trey wondered if she was even aware that she'd done any damage to Artie's heart. Next Trey looked over at Kurt, who was having a conversation about Katy Perry with Mercedes. Trey had seen Kurt around campus the year before. Last year Kurt was usually crying or looking terrified. Trey hadn't known Kurt personally, but he knew about his father's heart attack and about his bullying situation. He'd heard who won Junior Prom Queen. Kurt's bravery and openness about his sexuality had obviously inspired other students to come clean about who they are. He'd probably inspired Santana and Brittany to be who they are. Trey didn't hate homosexuals. He wasn't prejudice. However, he wasn't as cool with the idea of "gay" as Bryce or Sam were. They were both pretty laid-back and liberal on the subject. Puck told Trey that he used to be a total dick about it, meaning that he made Kurt's life a living hell. Wow. All Trey's life he'd been told that homosexuality was undesirable. Being in New Directions had taught him a lot of things, including the fact that gay wasn't such a bad thing. It meant a person was creative and unique. A person like Kurt got more attention than someone, say, Mike did because of his sexuality. That just wasn't a world that Trey was used to.

As much as he loved singing, Trey realized that his love for music wasn't enough to keep him in this universe. It wasn't enough to keep him in this topsy-turvy dimension where gay was cooler than straight and femininity was superior to masculinity. And that was when Trey decided that he needed to get out of this. Now.

"Mr. Schue," he said to the teacher.

"Yes, Trey?"

"Can I make an announcement?"

"Of course." Mr. Schue smiled encouragingly.

Trey stood up. "Hey," he said, getting everyone's attention. "I've got some bad news. My sports and grades have become real time-consuming, and I have to quit Glee."

Brittany gasped. Everyone looked startled. Why not? Trey was the fourth person to have quit Glee this year. Just Bryce, and the club would be back to where it started at the beginning of the year. Trey saw the look on Bryce's face when he said the word 'quit.'

Mr. Schue sighed seriously. "Well, if that's what you need to do, fine, Trey."

"Dude, why do you have to do this?" Puck wanted to know.

"I just said, sports and homework," Trey said with a shrug.

"But you're not even a junior yet," Mike pointed out. "And lots of us have sports too, but we still have time to do Glee."

Trey rolled his eyes. "I just don't want to do Glee anymore."

"Fine. Don't push it, guys. If he doesn't want to do Glee, leave it alone," Tina insisted.

"Let it go," Mr. Schue agreed with Tina. "We want people here that want to be here."

"Fine, but you suck, man," Puck said to Trey with a scowl on his face.

"Me too," Bryce agreed with Trey, standing up. "I quit Glee."

"Why, Bryce?" Mercedes asked, a genuine look of disappointment on her face.

"I'm not like Trey," Bryce explained. "I actually love Glee. And I've tried to stick around. I've been here a while since Quinn dumped me for Jesse. But I can't take it anymore. My heart's been broken for months, and now I've realized that there's no fixing it."

Quinn looked guilty. She stared down at her lap and fidgeted uncomfortably with her dress. She felt bad. Bryce was a good guy, much better than Jesse. Even better than Finn. But she and Jesse needed each other. They'd gone through the same thing: Finn breaking up with Quinn for Rachel, and Rachel ditching Jesse for Finn. They had the same pain.

"You don't have to quit Glee," Sam told him.

"Yeah, man, you can just sing about your pain and let it out," Finn agreed. "It works."

"Yeah, you'll feel a lot better," Sam assured him.

"No." Bryce shook his head. "I'm done here. It was great. With other people, I feel repressed. I have to hide who I am. Being in Glee allowed me to show everyone who I was, but now that I've showed everyone, all I have left to expose is pain. I want to forget. Glee pushes me to feel too much, and I want to go back to hiding it, and keeping it deep, deep inside where I can't access it."

"I've got nothing against Quinn or anything; I mean, she's the mother of my kid and all," Puck said, glancing cautiously over at the blonde. "But get over her, man! The whole world doesn't begin and end with her!"

Bryce turned to Trey and said, "Let's go, man." The two of them walked out the door.

"That's just great," Santana said bitterly. "Now we're back to where we started."

"Yeah, we never needed those auditions at the beginning of the year," Sam agreed.

"I can't believe all of our new members are gone -" Rachel began.

"It doesn't matter," Mr. Schue told her. "This is New Directions. This is all we need."

"We couldn't even hold on to a few underclassmen," Quinn interrupted. "Now we're just going to be ridiculed even more."

"You don't have to worry about that," Mr. Schue sighed, sitting up on the stool over by the piano. "You're in Glee Club," he said, observing everyone's faces. "And when you graduate this year, I don't want you to think of the slushees or the insults. I want you to leave McKinley with everything you learned here. From me, and from each other. We are a family."

And at that moment, everyone loved each other. They loved each other like they did on that evening at Mr. Schue's house when they thought that Sue was going to get their club disbanded after ruining them at Regionals sophomore year. They loved each other like they did when they sang "To Sir, With Love" to Mr. Schue. They loved each other like they did the day they won Regionals during junior year - the day they knew they were going to Nationals. It was one of those times where it didn't matter from what background any of them came from, or what sexuality they were. Everyone mattered to everyone, even Rachel to Quinn almost.

After Glee was over that day, everyone left the classroom quietly, humbled. Mr. Schue stayed where he was for a little while, thinking about everything. About everything that had happened today to the day he'd held his first auditions for Glee Club: Tina Cohen-Chang, Mercedes Jones, Kurt Hummel, Artie Abrams, and Rachel Berry were the original members of New Directions. He remembered how ridiculous the club was before he'd gotten Finn Hudson to join. He remembered how wonderful it was to have the other popular kids follow in Finn's footsteps and join: Noah Puckerman, Mike Chang, Matt Rutherford, Quinn Fabray, Santana Lopez, and Brittany Pierce. He remembered Sam Evans and Lauren Zizes joining the next year.

There was a knock on the door. Mr. Schue wondered if Sue Sylvester had arrived to make fun of him the way she'd liked to do since he started the Glee Club. But Sue wouldn't have knocked. She would have come in the room without asking permission. Will was hopeful that maybe it was Emma Pillsbury there, wanting to talk to him. Just to see him.

"Come in," he said eagerly, and then Shannon Beiste entered the room.

"Hi, Will," she said, and then her boyfriend went over to her and kissed her lips.

"Hey, Shannon," he said with a kind smile. "How are you this afternoon?"

"Can't complain, I guess," the football coach said with a shrug.

"We still on for tonight at Breadstix?" Will asked.

"That's what I want to talk to you about." Beiste took a deep breath.

"You want to talk about Breadstix?" Will asked.

"Us. Dating," Beiste sighed. "Will, you are the best man I have ever met, and I might love you. But I need to break up with you before we take this any farther."

"Why?" Will wanted to know. "You're in love with someone else," Shannon said. "And what kind of girlfriend would I be if I didn't do what's best for you? You love her, and she loves you just as much. Please, please go to Emma. It kills me to let you go, but I know you'll be happier with her."

Will put his hands on his hips. "You're right," he decided. "I do love Emma, but I care about you too, Shannon. So much. Thank you for being so honest with me. Can I have one more kiss before I leave?"

"Yes," his now ex-girlfriend replied, and they kissed one more time.

Will hugged her, and left the room. He ran across the hall to get to Emma's office, but she'd left only a little while ago. She was gone for the day. Will wasn't ready to call her on the phone. Not today.

. . . . . . . . . . . .

"Today I was more in love with you than ever before," Rachel told Finn. The two of them were sitting on her bed in her room. "The way you tried to convince Bryce to stay in Glee, the way you told him to sing what he felt in his heart. I could see how much you loved Glee; you were so open about it. You became that much more perfect to me."

"You don't love me as much as I love you," Finn challenged, intertwining his fingers with hers.

"What makes you so sure about that?" Rachel asked, giving a small smile.

Finn shook his head. "No one can love anyone as much as I love you."

Rachel took her boyfriend's face in her hands and kissed him on the lips. Finn wrapped his arms around his girlfriend's back and held her close. The two of them kissed passionately for the next few minutes. When they stopped for air, they were both breathing hard. Finn stroked Rachel's dark brown hair, let go of her, and stood up. "Guess I'll be going now," he said. It had been a few hours since Glee Club had let out, and Finn was here since then. "I have a lot of homework, and I should probably get started on that."

"No, stay," Rachel insisted. "I think I want to try something."

"What?" Finn looked confused.

"I think I want to give myself to you, tonight," Rachel said slowly.

Finn shook his head. "Why would you want to do that?"

"Because I love you," Rachel repeated.

"I don't deserve to be your first," Finn scoffed. "I'm not a great boyfriend."

"No, you're right." Rachel stood up and wrapped her arms around her boyfriend's waist, possibly since that was the highest she could reach. "You're the best boyfriend."

The two of them kissed some more, and Finn stayed in Rachel's bedroom for the rest of the day - and through the night.

. . . . . . . . . . . .

**Author's Note: I apologize about the author's note at the end of the chapter before this. I knew that Cameron didn't win The Glee Project; I was just tired when I wrote it. I meant to say Damian. Only a few more chapters and I'm done posting this ancient fic, and then I can work on more current ones like "TwiLight It Up!" I'm sorry it's taken me so long to update that one. I got writer's block on it, and I want to address everyone who alerted, reviewed, and added it to favorites at the beginning of its next chapter, so that's also gonna take me a while. I am so grateful to all of those that did review, favorite, and alert it though! It made me so happy! It's much more popular than this old thing, and I must say that I do understand why. This one's just… old. I can't say it enough. Celebrity appearance in the next chapter!**


	10. Radio Gaga

**Rated T for offensive language, mild sex themes, scattered violence, offensive language, and drama. **

**I'll post author's notes at the end of every chapter.**

**. . . . . . . . . . . . . **

**Radio Gaga **

"Hey, William," Sue Sylvester said, entering the almost-empty Glee classroom after the club had been let out a few days later.

"Hello, Sue," Will replied with a competitive smirk on his face. He was just as ready to ridicule her as she was to ridicule him. "You haven't spoken to me in a few days. I should have known all good things were not meant to last."

"I didn't come here to be insulted," Sue said, sounding more like Will today. "I came here to tell you that I did something nice for once. But if you don't want to hear about it, I'll leave." She turned around to leave the room.

"No, Sue, wait," Will sighed, and the cheerleading coach stopped. "What did you do?"

"I've been thinking a lot," Sue explained. "Yes, it's a dangerous pastime. It takes away from all that valuable time I could be spending destroying you. But I've been thinking ever since the holidays. It's been a few months since then. I thought about Jean's funeral. I thought about how nice it was what your kids did for her… and for me. All I've ever done to thank you for it is try to get your little club to Libya instead of New York for Nationals. So I decided to do something to repay all of you. A few weeks ago I was surfing the net, Google searching various things like 'I hate Will Schuester' and 'New Directions suck.' Then I stumbled upon a famous pop star's interview. She talked about Nationals, and said that she had access to a tape showing all of the performances. She specifically talked about New Directions, and said that they didn't suck the way people said they did. She didn't think it was bad that Frankenteen and Thumbelina kissed each other in front of a huge audience. She liked it; thought it was powerful. She also thought that the whole group of kids was talented. You'd think I would have kept my big mouth shut, but I wanted to tell you. I also contacted this female phenomenon and told her that I was a personal friend of yours. She wants to meet New Directions right here in McKinley High. I told her that ya'all lost Sectionals this year. She wants your little club to record a song and sing a number in her upcoming concert tour."

"Sue, please don't mess around with me like this," Will groaned.

"I'm serious," Sue promised, and Will looked into her eyes. Yes… she was serious.

"Who's the famous pop star?" he was curious to know.

"That's a surprise, Willy," Sue said with a playful smirk. "But she's going to be here next week. She's going to Figgins' office (he'll probably be speechless when he sees her), and she's gonna tell him that she's here to see a one Sue Sylvester. He'll call my name, I'll come along, and then I'll lead her to the auditorium where she is to meet your little Glee Club."

Will laughed happily. "Thank you, Sue! You're amazing!" He took a few steps toward her and outspread his arms to hug her, but she stepped away from him.

"No, I'm not gonna hug you, William," she said, holding her hands up to keep him away. "Your hair smells too strongly."

Will sighed and shook his head. The smile didn't leave his face. "Thank you, Sue."

"I would say 'anytime,' but I don't want you to get used to it," she replied, and after that she left the room. Will smiled and stood there, wondering who the pop star could be.

. . . . . . . . . . . .

So the big day came, and Will hadn't said a word to the Glee Club. They had no idea. He just had the kids go to the auditorium every day just in case it was going to be then. He'd given them an assignment: to rehearse singing a song that described each of them. He wanted for them to sing the song to the mystery pop star. So the kids were hard at work.

Puck and Lauren were rehearsing with Sam, Mercedes, and Artie. Brittany and Santana were over in a corner together. Mike danced while Tina sang. Kurt ran different song titles by Rachel and Finn. Quinn practiced by herself. Will stood against the stage with his arms crossed. He watched the theater doors, waiting for the singer to enter the auditorium. His heart beat fast. He knew he shouldn't have trusted Sue so much, but she was just so genuine when she told him about the entertainer, and she hadn't bothered him since.

Just then the doors opened, and beside Sue Sylvester stepped a diva wearing huge green sunglasses and her bleached blonde hair up above her head in the shape of a triangle! She wore blood-red lipstick, sparkly white gloves, and a purple suit. She was so eccentric that no one had missed her enter the room. There was a loud scream. Will guessed it must have come from Kurt. The fashionable boy had his hands over his mouth, asking in a muffled voice, "Is it really her? Is it really her? Is it really her? Is it really here? Rachel, am I dreaming? Pinch me!"

Everyone stared at Lady Gaga with their jaws dropped and their eyes star-struck.

"Well, kids," said Sue, gesturing to the popular celebrity. "Meet the only person in this world gaga enough to believe you're talented. Yeah, you've probably guessed it's Lady Gaga."

"It's wonderful to meet you, Miss Gaga," Will said, approaching the mega-pop star. He held his hand out for her to shake, hoping that it wasn't trembling too much.

"Likewise," she replied in a cool tone of voice, accepting the gesture. She observed the Glee coach for a moment and said with a crooked smile, "Your hair is very nice."

"Why, thank you," Will said in response, smirking at Sue, who shrugged in boredom.

"Can we…?" Tina asked, her voice trailing off. Will grinned and nodded at her. The whole Glee Club came running over to Lady Gaga, all speaking to her at once.

"One at a time, guys! One at a time!" Will laughed.

Rachel (of course) pushed her way to the front of the crowd. She was awfully strong for someone so small. She grabbed Gaga's hand and shook it vivaciously. "Hello, my name is Rachel Berry, and I just wanted to tell you that I am a huge fan."

Kurt shoved her out of the way with a sideways jut of his hips and took Gaga's hand out of her grasp and into his. "You. Are. A. Genius." He was going to hyperventilate.

"I'm Tina Cohen-Chang!" Tina said, deciding to stand behind Kurt. She knew that there was no getting him away from Lady Gaga.

"And I'm her boyfriend Mike Chang," Mike said, putting an arm around his girlfriend.

"Artie Abrams!"

"Santana Lopez!"

"Noah Puckerman!"

"Lauren Zizes! You are amazing!"

"Finn Hudson."

"Sam Evans."

"Mercedes Jones!"

"Quinn Fabray."

"Brittany Pierce. You are so hot. Ow. You didn't have to hit me, Santana."

"I know who you all are," Gaga informed the teenagers. "I watched the tape of you performing at Nationals this past summer. You were quite impressive. And as for the kiss, the judges were sensitive. I believe every performance needs a controversial, shocking moment. It makes it more dramatic."

Rachel beamed and squeezed Finn's hand. Lady Gaga was impressed with New Directions, the two of them in particular!

"We've done lots of your songs in Glee Club," Kurt explained, fanning himself with his hands, for some reason thinking that doing so would keep him from fainting. "We've done 'Bad Romance,' 'Born This Way' -"

"'Telephone!'" Rachel interjected. "'Pokerface!'"

Lady Gaga gave a small smile. No one could see her eyes from behind her dark sunglasses. "It flatters me to know that I have inspired so many beautiful people," she said, still in her reserved, almost-monotone speaking voice. "And now I shall tell you why I am here. The song you sang at Nationals - 'Light Up The World' - was spectacular. I want for you to record it, and I will personally see to it that it is heard on the radio. And then I would like to see you perform 'Born This Way'….. on stage….. In my upcoming concert tour."

Everyone thought they were dreaming. Was this real? Lady Gaga was an inspiration to almost everyone in the auditorium, and now she was going to make them stars!

She was going to get their voices heard in cars all over the world, and then she was going to let them sing their hearts out on stage. With her. This was almost too good to be true, but it was true. And at this moment, none of the slushees, insults, or bullying mattered. Every hardship New Directions ever faced was worth it. It all meant something. It was like the Glee students had traveled through a horrible blizzard, and now found a warm, cozy little cabin. All that hard work had paid off. Rachel had always known that it was only a matter of time before something like this happened, but it came over as a huge surprise to everyone else.

"Guys, get up onstage," Will told the kids. He wanted them to perform 'Born This Way' for Lady Gaga.

"We don't have our t-shirts," Mike referred to the tees that displayed a word or phrase showing what each student had been afraid of, but were no longer ashamed of.

"Bring them to school tomorrow," Will said, smiling. "We'll rehearse again."

Kurt squealed with happiness and leaped onto the stage with Mercedes and Tina scurrying to keep up with him. Everyone got behind the curtains, and Will turned to Lady Gaga and Sue Sylvester. He gestured for them to follow him over to the seats.

Kurt came out from behind the curtains and began when the music started - the same way he'd done when the club had performed the number the last year, _"It doesn't matter if you love him, or_ _capital H-I-M. Just put your paws up, 'cause you were born this way, baby!"_ He'd raised his arms up in the air, and Tina and Mercedes appeared at his sides. He wasn't wearing his special tee or a jacket over it, so they didn't do anything to his outfit today like they usually did while performing this song. But they did the usual dance.

Tina: _"My mama told me when I was young 'We are all born superstars.' She rolled my hair and put my lipstick on in the glass of her boudoir." _

Mercedes_: "There's nothin' wrong with lovin' who you are. She said ''cause He made you perfect, babe.' So hold your head up, girl, and you'll go far. Listen to me when I say…"_

Everyone else joined in: _"I'm beautiful in my way 'cause God makes no mistakes! I'm on the right track, baby, I was born this way! Don't hide yourself in regret. Just love yourself and you're set. I'm on the right track, baby. I was born this way, born this way! Ooh, there ain't no other way. Baby, I was born_ _this way. Baby, I was born this way! Ooh, there ain't no other way. Baby, I was born this way. I'm on the right track, baby, I was born this way."_

_"Don't be a drag; just be a queen!"_

_ "Don't be a drag; just be a queen!"_

_ "Don't be a drag; just be a queen!"_

_"Don't be, don't be…" _

_"Give yourself prudence and love your friends. Subway kid, rejoice of truth. In the religion of the insecure, I must be myself, respect my youth. A different lover is not a sin. Believe capital H-I-M. I love my life, I love this record, and mi amore vole fe yah! I'm beautiful in my way 'cause God makes no mistakes! I'm on the right track, baby, I was born this way! Don't hide yourself in regret. Just love yourself and you're set. I'm on the right track, baby. I was born this way, born this way! Ooh, there ain't_ _no other way._ _Baby, I was born this way. Baby, I was born this way! Ooh, there ain't no other way. Baby, I was born this way. I'm on the right track, baby, I was born this way."_

Kurt moved dramatically to the front of the stage again: _"Don't be a drag; just be a queen! Whether you're broke or evergreen. You're black, white, beige, chola descent. You're Lebanese, you're orient! Whether life's disabilities left you outcast, bullied, or teased. Rejoice and love yourself today, 'cause baby, you were born this way!" _

Everyone: _"No matter gay, straight, or bi, lesbian, transgendered life: I'm on the right track, baby, I was born to survive! No matter black, white, or beige, chola, or orient made, I'm on the right track, baby. I was born to be brave! I'm beautiful in my way 'cause God makes no mistakes! I'm on the right track, baby, I was born this way! Don't hide yourself in regret. Just love yourself and you're set. I'm_ _on the right track, baby. I was born this way, born this way! Ooh, there ain't no other way. Baby, I was born this way. Baby, I was born this way! Ooh, there ain't no other way. Baby, I was born this way. I'm_ _on the right track, baby, I was born this way. I was born this way, hey. I was born this way, hey. I'm on_ _the right track, baby, I was born this way. I was born this way, hey. I was born this way, hey. I'm on the right track, baby, I was born this way."_

Lady Gaga clapped her hands as the worn-out Glee students caught their breath. They'd given more than ever before to a performance today, since they were performing for the Lady Gaga. "Bravo!" she told them. "Splendid! You've all outdone yourselves today, my little monsters!" Will smiled over at Sue, who did not return a look. She wasn't ready to become Will Schuester's friend just yet. Actually, she wasn't sure if she ever would be.

"Did you hear that?" Rachel hissed at Sam and Lauren. "She called us her little monsters! This has to be the best day of my life!"

Gaga handed Will a few phone numbers, including hers and her agent's.

"Bring the kids to the recording studio next week," she said. "That's when I want them to record the song they sang at Nationals. There we'll talk about the concert."

"Great. Thanks, Lady Gaga!" Will said, still unable to get over the excitement as the diva made her dramatic exit out the door. Sue stood there with her fists on her hips.

"Well, Gaga threw Figgins for a loop when she entered his office, just as I predicted," she told Mr. Schue. "And there were a bunch of students hanging around that saw her."

The Glee kids all started laughing, wondering which students had seen her in the McKinley halls. "Wow, I bet those underclassmen wish they hadn't quit Glee," Mercedes chuckled, supposing that they'd been some of the people that saw the pop star.

"Guess I'll see you 'round, Willy." Sue waved before leaving the auditorium.

"Hey Sue," Will said, stopping the cheerleading coach. She turned around and looked at him. Will grinned. "She liked my hair."

Sue frowned. "Don't push it." And then she was gone.

The kids all continued to talk about Lady Gaga and about what they would say to everyone who'd ever doubted them. While Will watched them converse with such joy, Emma Pillsbury entered the auditorium in a cute red blouse with black polka-dots. She looked like a ladybug. She went over to Will and smiled widely up at him.

"I saw Lady Gaga earlier," she told him. "Sue told me she was going to see you and the Glee kids."

"Yeah," Will said, nodding his head. "She wants the kids to record a song, and then appear in her concert tour."

"That's amazing," Emma encouraged him. "See, even though you didn't take the Broadway deal, you're still climbing that ladder of success."

"I'm never going to be at the top," Will sighed, "until I have you."

Emma's smile faded. "Yeah, Shannon told me that she broke up with you."

"You say it like it's a bad thing," Will said, making a face.

"No, it's not." Emma shook her head and looked down at her feet. "I love you, Will, and I really want to be with you. I'm just so scared that I'm going to… mess it up."

"What makes you think that?" Will wanted to know.

"Something always goes wrong when we're together," Emma reminded him. "I wanted this for a long time, but now that I can have you, it's all coming back to me. And now I'm not worried that one of us will cheat on the other, but I'm worried that my…. Problems are going to get in the way of us. I've been taking pills, but -"

"Emma," Will took her hand, "I promise to help you get rid of these problems. I will stand by your side until the end, and get you through this. It's not permanent. It really isn't."

Emma's round eyes filled with tears. "You are such a good man, Will."

And at that moment, the two of them kissed on the lips. It didn't matter that all the kids were there. None of them were paying attention. They were all thinking of their amazing meeting with Lady Gaga, none any less star struck than they were at the moment she entered the auditorium. After the kiss was over, Will knew that this was the best day of his life.

. . . . . . . . . . . .

Finally, Rachel Berry thought to herself that next week when she and the rest of New Directions walked into the recording studio. Since Lady Gaga made her appearance at McKinley, people treated the Glee Club like it was full of kings and queens. There were still a few people who treated it like crap, but those idiots didn't understand the genius that is Gaga. Rachel had recorded a few songs in the past, but it was all small-scale stuff. Today she would be singing something that would be heard on the radio, everywhere!

The kids shook hands with a bunch of important people in the business before Gaga joined them to talk about recording. When the pop star made her dramatic-as-ever entrance, she explained to them that they needed to go into a booth and get their head-gear fitted to their liking. Mercedes had brought the track for 'Light Up The World.' Lady Gaga told them to warm up and rehearse for a little while before the actual recording. After that, they were ready.

Santana: _"Hey-hey-hey you and me keep on dancing in the dark. It's been tearing me apart, never knowing what we are. Hey-hey-hey you and me keep on trying to play it cool. Now it's time to make a move. And that's what I'm gonna do."_

Artie: _"Lay it all down."_

Brittany: _"Got something to say."_

Artie: _"Lay it all down."_

Brittany: _"Throw your doubt away."_

Artie: _"Do or die now."_

Brittany: _"Step on to the plate." _

Artie: _"Blow the door wide open like up, up, and away."_

Everyone: _"Let's light up the world tonigh-igh-ight! You gotta give up the fight and ri-i-ide! I know that we got the love, alrigh-igh-ight! Come on and ligh-ligh-light it up. Light it up tonight! Let's light up the world tonigh-igh-ight! You gotta give up the fight and ri-i-ide! I know that we got the love, alrigh-igh-ight! Come on and ligh-ligh-light it up. Light it up tonight!"_

Finn: _"Hey-hey-hey you and me, turn it up ten-thousand watts. Tell me why we gotta stop? I just wanna let it rock!"_

Artie: _"Hey-hey-hey, you and me,"_ Tina joins in, _"keep on staring at the road, like we don't know where to go. Step back, let me take control!" _Artie by himself again: _"Lay it all down."_

Brittany: _"Got something to say."_

Artie: _"Lay it all down."_

Brittany: _"Throw your doubt away."_

Artie: _"Do or die now."_

Brittany: _"Step on to the plate." _

Artie: _"Blow the door wide open like up, up, and away."_

Everyone: _"Let's light up the world tonigh-igh-ight! You gotta give up the fight and ri-i-ide! I know that we got the love, alrigh-igh-ight! Come on and ligh-ligh-light it up. Light it up tonight! Let's light up the world tonigh-igh-ight! You gotta give up the fight and ri-i-ide! I know that we got the love, alrigh-igh-ight! Come on and ligh-ligh-light it up. Light it up tonight! Hey-hey-hey you! Hey-hey-hey you! Hey-hey-hey you! Hey-hey-hey you-you-you-you-you!"_

Rachel: _"Lay it all down. Got something to say. Lay it all down. Throw your doubt away. Do or die now. Step on to the plate. Blow the door wide open like up, up, and away."_

Everyone: _"Let's light up the world tonigh-igh-ight! You gotta give up the fight and ri-i-ide! I know that we got the love, alrigh-igh-ight! Come on and ligh-ligh-light it up. Light it up tonight! Let's light up the world tonigh-igh-ight! You gotta give up the fight and ri-i-ide! I know that we got the love, alrigh-igh-ight! Come on and ligh-ligh-light it up. Light it up tonight! Let's light up the world tonigh-igh-ight! You gotta give up the fight and ri-i-ide! I know that we got the love, alrigh-igh-ight! Come on and ligh-ligh-light it up. Light it up tonight!"_

"Brilliant, just as I expected," Lady Gaga said as her producers applauded.

A woman with shoulder-length brown hair began passing out papers to each of the members of New Directions. "Here are your contracts," she explained. "Have your parents sign them if they are alright with the idea of you touring with Lady Gaga."

Many of the teenagers exchanged looks amongst themselves. Not even half of them had mentioned to their parents that they met Lady Gaga at all. They wondered how their moms and dads would react when their kids asked them to let them tour with her! Rachel had already told her two dads about the diva's appearance at her school's auditorium. Tina's parents knew. So did Mercedes', Brittany's, Santana's, Artie's, Puck's, and Lauren's. Sam and Mike had yet to tell theirs. Quinn's mother had no idea. Finn's mom and Kurt's dad were unaware. Rachel needed this. Any Broadway director would be impressed to hear that she'd been featured in a Lady Gaga concert tour prior to an audition. This would look fantastic on her résumé.

When the teens left the recording studio, Will took a look at his cell phone and saw that he'd received a text message from Emma. She was asking him to join her at Breadstix that night. Will smiled to himself. Things were definitely looking up.

. . . . . . . . . . . .

**Author's Note: The girl/lady I can relate to the most on Glee is Emma. I hope that she is able to overcome her problems in Season Three. Only a few more chapters and I'm done posting this! You would not believe how much editing I did on this story. I practically rewrote it and changed everything because I was not satisfied with it enough to put it up on fanfiction. It still isn't great, but I really have improved writing since. I promise you that! I hope you enjoyed this anyway. There are many errors, I know. **


	11. Courage

**Rated T for offensive language, mild sex themes, scattered violence, offensive language, and drama. **

**I'll post author's notes at the end of every chapter.**

**. . . . . . . . . . . . . **

**Courage**

Will put just enough gel in his hair to make it look good without having it smell. He wore the nicest suit that didn't look extremely fancy. Tonight he was going to spend time with Emma Pillsbury, and it wasn't a professional, friendly, or casual meeting. It was going to be romantic, the first romantic evening they'd shared in two years. He got into his car and felt the butterflies in his stomach - the butterflies he'd felt during the first few years he was married to Terri. The butterflies he felt in high school Glee Club, listening to April Rhodes sing. Emma had problems, but she was worth every single one of them. Will would never let her go again.

He arrived at Breadstix and took a deep breath before getting out of his car. He checked his teeth in one of his mirrors and then started toward the restaurant. When he opened the door, he saw Emma. She looked so beautiful, sitting there with glittering silver earrings and a violet purple dress. In her hand was a rose. When she saw Will, she beamed.

"Hey," she said in her sweet little voice, and Will placed his hand on her upper back. He kissed her softly on the cheek and then took a seat.

"Hello," he said, smiling brightly. His smile made Emma blush. Every time she saw it she remembered why she fell for him when she first met him, when he was hired at McKinley High. And at that moment, both of them wondered why they'd ever let the other go. Were they crazy? _He's so much to lose,_ Emma thought to herself, as she had thought many times.

"You look so beautiful," Will told her.

Emma handed him the rose she'd been holding. "Thank you. You look handsome."

Will sighed and stared into her big, bright eyes. "Well, here we are."

Emma nodded. "It's been forever." She exhaled as though she'd been holding her breath since the day they split, and she was finally able to let it go.

"I had so much to tell you," Will sighed. "But now that I'm here, all I can do is look at you and feel so, so lucky. I forgot everything I wanted to say."

"You have that effect on me too," Emma admitted with a shy smile.

"Good evening, strangers," Kurt Hummel said with a grin, approaching their table. He winked at Mr. Schue, who laughed. It was so funny that he would be their waiter. "As I am sure you don't know, my name is Kurt Hummel, and I will be your server this evening. Can I bring you refreshments - something to drink before you decide on your order?"

"A martini," Emma said, and Will's eyes widened. That was a strange choice for Emma.

"Wow," he said. "Um, same for me."

"Coming right up," Kurt said with a wide smile, and he glided away toward the kitchen. The countertenor was unaware that he passed a table that sat Dave Karofsky, whose face was hidden behind his menu. The athlete glowered at the pale, slender boy.

"I have something to tell you, Will." Suddenly Emma looked pained.

"What? What is it?" Will worried it was bold, but he grabbed her hand.

"You know I've taken pills and medications for my…. OCD, and for weeks it was getting so much better." Emma looked ashamed of herself. She shook her head and stared down at her lap. "But then it started to stop working, and now it's getting worse. I'm thirty-three years old, Will. I'm too old to be like this. I'm like a scared little girl -"

"No you're not," Will disagreed. "I told you last year that your obsessive compulsive disorder gets worse when you're stressed, when Carl left you. Something's tearing you a part right now. But you don't have to go through it alone. I've already told you that I'm gonna be there beside you every step of the way."

"It's like I told you, Will," Emma said, looking into his kind eyes. "I want to be the perfect woman for you. That's probably why I've been more stressed lately. I want to be perfect. You don't deserve anything less."

Will sighed. "Emma, you are the only woman I want to be with ever, ever again. You are going to beat this. We are going to beat this, together. You can count on me. This obsessive compulsive order and germophobia are going to die, and you are going to win."

Kurt returned with the drinks and removed his pen from behind his ear. "So, are we ready to order?" his breathy voice asked.

"Yes, we'd like the big order of breadsticks, and also lots of penne pasta," Will said, and Emma smiled across the table at him. Kurt wrote everything down, and nodded at them. He smiled one last time before leaving the table again. He returned in incredible timing. "Wow, this looks good," Will said, handing a breadstick to his girlfriend. He was amazed that Emma didn't even take out a box of wipes and start cleaning the food off before eating it. The two of them ate and talked about their lives, and then paid. Will left a big tip for Kurt, and left a note thanking him for being such a good student and letting him know that he was glad to see him back in school for the past few weeks.

Will held the door for Emma as they left the restaurant. The two of them kissed on the lips before going their separate ways to their cars. Emma wished that she had enough courage to ask if she could go home with him and spend the night, but she just didn't.

She did, though, have enough courage to say, "I love you, Will."

Will smiled warmly and stroked her cheek with his hand. "I love you too, Emma."

"Good night," Emma said softly, and then her boyfriend walked away to his car. She went to hers, and drove home. As their cars departed from the parking lot, another car entered. Out came Blaine, dressed in a denim jacket and long pair of jeans that were rolled up to his ankles. He had one of Kurt's fashionable scarves around his neck, and his raven hair was neatly combed instead of gelled and curly like it usually was. In his arms he held a soft teddy bear with a heart-shaped lollipop attached to one of its paws, and there was a tiny box in one of his pockets.

He entered the restaurant with a sparkling smile on his handsome face, and approached the hostess. She noticed the gift and grinned flirtatiously. "Ooh, you here to see a lovely lady?" she asked.

"Actually, no, but I am here to see someone very special to me," Blaine replied. "Can I request a one Kurt Hummel to be my waiter?"

The woman's smile faded into a slight frown as she realized that Blaine was gay. "Yes."

She led the young man over to a booth that could fit two people. "Enjoy your evening. I'll go request Mr. Hummel." She walked away, and when Dave Karofsky heard that, he lowered his menu and narrowed his eyes at the handsome young man at the booth. He glared first at him and then at the gift. The fluffy bear sat there in his lap. Ha. Hobbit looked like a stupid little boy. Not a man. If Hummel wants a man, then he should want me, Dave thought bitterly to himself. Not some dapper midget. Okay, so Blaine wasn't a midget. But he was much shorter than Dave.

Kurt approached Blaine's table with the most beautiful smile playing upon his rose-petal lips. "Good evening, Blaine Warbler."

"Good evening, Kurt." Blaine brought the teddy bear onto the table and motioned its free paw to wave hello to his boyfriend. "I wanted to introduce you to someone. He's an awful good friend of mine, and he wanted to give you this lollipop."

"Oh, Blaine," Kurt sighed with so much love in his voice, taking the bear into his arms, giving it a tight squeeze, and kissing the top of its plush head. Then he smirked at Blaine and said, "I'm still working, Blaine. I'm on the job for another hour."

"I don't mind. I'm gonna wait for you, my little employee of every month." Blaine winked. "I want to take you back to the dorm tonight, after you get off of work. But after you take my order, I am going to have to borrow a few minutes of your time."

"What the hell?" Kurt chuckled. "I'm one of the most diligent workers here. Even if I stop to talk to you, I'll be able to get everything done." Blaine took the teddy bear from his boyfriend's arms so that he could hold onto it for him until he got off from work. "Is there anything you would like to drink, perfect stranger?"

"Your lips," Blaine joked, and Kurt laughed. Blaine shrugged. "Shirley Temple."

"Coming. Right. Up." Kurt poked his boyfriend playfully with the capped side of his pen, and then hurried off to retrieve the drinks. Blaine looked extremely anxious now. He kept loosening the scarf around his neck, and Dave watched him with utter hatred. Blaine was so fabulous he didn't even sweat when he was nervous. Not like he did, the sweaty ham-hock. Why couldn't Dave have been born looking like Blaine? Blaine-Hobbit Anderson?

A few minutes later Kurt returned to the table holding the two drinks. He handed them to Blaine and winked, getting his pen ready. "Now, what would you like to eat, fine sir?"

"You," Blaine said cheekily, and Kurt giggled bashfully. "Just the usual. Breadsticks. And spaghetti. But waiter, I request a moment of your time."

"Request granted," Kurt replied, and Blaine took a deep breath. He took Kurt's smooth hand, and got down on one knee in front of him. Kurt's blue eyes widened.

"After you asked me to prom, I decided that I wanted to be the next one who got to propose, so here I go." Blaine was breathing harshly. Kurt could tell he was terrified, terrified of what the outcome of this action could be. Dave hoped that this was just a horrible nightmare and that he would wake up from it in a minute. Blaine started again, "Kurt, I love you. So, so much. More than anyone has ever loved a person. I never had that courage that I've always told you to have, that courage that you've always had. But now I do. And as I know you know because you gave me that enthusiastic call on the phone when it happened, New York has legalized gay marriage."

Blaine took that Tiffany box out of his pocket and held it in front of Kurt, who had to bite his lip to keep from squealing. "When we graduate, I want to marry you," Blaine explained. "I don't really want to wait. I don't want to be with any other guy, ever. You are the only man I've ever loved, and I can't stand the idea of being away from you. So I'm just asking if we add to the original plan, which was moving to New York after graduating and living together. I'm asking you if we can move to New York after graduation, live together, and marry each other. Then in a few years we'll start a family, and spend the rest of our lives together."

Kurt's sparkling blue eyes filled with tears. Blaine opened the box, revealing a beautiful sapphire ring. "It matches your eyes," he gushed romantically. "That's why I bought this one. I want to marry you, Kurt Hummel. And it would be amazing if you would say yes, please."

Kurt bent down and kissed his boyfriend's raven hair on top of his head. He sobbed happily for a couple of minutes, and as he did so, Blaine slipped the sapphire ring onto Kurt's slender finger. Kurt cupped Blaine's chin with his other hand and said, "I would be so honored to marry you, Blaine Anderson, after the Lady Gaga concert. Yes, yes, yes! I want to marry you! So much!" He jumped up and down and clapped his hands, and then extended his arm so that he could admire the way the ring sparkled in the light. A few people nearby had overheard the proposal, and applauded the now-engaged couple.

Blaine stood up and kissed his boyfriend passionately on the lips. He was going to marry Kurt, the beautiful man that would be in his life forever and ever. Neither boy stopped to think of college at Julliard or how their families and friends would react to the news of their engagement. That didn't matter right now. All that mattered was each other. That was all there was. It was all Dave could do not to stand up right now and smash their faggy faces in.

The manager came around and gave Kurt a knowing look. Kurt squeaked worriedly and apologized quickly. "I'm so sorry -"

"Get out of here."

"I'm so sorry. Am I fired?" Kurt asked nervously.

The manager smiled and pat him on the shoulder. "No. No, you're not fired. Get out of here, the two of you. Find somewhere and celebrate. Congratulations."

Kurt and Blaine both sighed with relief. "Thank you. Thank you so much, sir," said Blaine, taking his boyfriend's hand. Kurt grabbed the teddy bear, and the two of them started toward the door. Dave glared at them as everyone else in the restaurant continued to applaud. It was all too much for him to handle, some sickly sweet happy ending where every body wins, except for him. No, it wasn't gonna play out that way….

"We're not going to tell your parents, are we?" Kurt asked Blaine during the drive to the Dalton. He sat in the passenger seat, still admiring his new engagement ring.

Blaine tensed. "Not about the marriage yet, no. Not unless we want to hear about it all night." He laughed, and Kurt nodded. He pitied his fiancé (oh my goodness, Kurt could call Blaine his fiancé now! FIANCE!). Burt didn't mind the fact that Kurt was gay, but the Andersons weren't as accepting when it came to homosexuality. They didn't kick Blaine out of the house for it, but their relationship with their son changed. Kurt didn't expect much from them as in-laws.

Blaine pulled into his driveway, got out of the car, and opened the door for his fiancé. The word thrilled him as much as it did Kurt. They were no longer just "boyfriends" or "lovers." They were "fiancés." They held hands as Blaine used his identification card to get into the building. He led him to the senior common room and then they went up to the dorm. Wes, David, Nick, and Jeff weren't there. They'd gone home to visit their families. _Klaine_ had the dorm all to themselves.

Blaine locked the door, and turned around. Kurt grabbed his fiancé's waist and pressed him against the wall. The scrumptious pink lips attacked Blaine's strong jaw and kissed, sucked, and licked down to his neck passionately. Kurt clutched a handful of Blaine's raven hair, pulled his head back, causing him to gasp, and worked on giving his collarbone a hickey. Blaine gasped over and over and moaned Kurt's name. He dug his fingernails into the wall and scratched it, since he had nothing to grab onto. Kurt didn't loosen the grip he had on his lover's hips. One of Kurt's smooth but strong hands grabbed the buttons on Blaine's jacket and ripped the denim off his shoulders. He basked in the heat radiating off of Blaine's body through his light white t-shirt. Both of his hands traveled underneath Blaine's shirt and moved upward to his abs. He groped his chest. Blaine let Kurt take control.

"What happened to my baby penguin?" he whispered.

"He's king of the arctic," Kurt replied loudly.

"Ice Man," Blaine sighed.

"Get on the bed," Kurt groaned lasciviously in Blaine's ear, sending several shudders down his back. Blaine whimpered, feeling way too turned-on to move right now. Kurt grabbed him by the shoulders and moved him for him. He tossed him onto the bed and then followed him onto it, jumping upon it and straddling Blaine. Blaine found himself between Kurt's arms and legs, and with Kurt's breath fanning him. Just the feel of it sent heat coursing through Blaine's body down to his groin.

"What are you going to do?" Blaine asked excitedly.

"I'm going to give you some engagement loving," Kurt replied, "before I have to go home because my dad's gonna be worried about me…"

. . . . . . . . . . . .

**Author's Note: Only two or so chapters left and I'm done with this fic! Wahoo! I'll have time to write more Glee stuff! I'm going to write about it on my page within the next few days. **


	12. Friends Forever

**Rated T for offensive language, mild sex themes, scattered violence, offensive language, and drama. **

**I'll post author's notes at the end of every chapter.**

***Last chapter!***

**. . . . . . . . . . . . . **

**Friends Forever**

Kurt Hummel walked down the hall when no one else was there. Glee Club had just ended, and anyone who was still at school was either in detention or at sports practice. It made him a little uneasy being all by himself. There were certain people that attended McKinley High that he didn't want to run into. Just as he thought about this, Dave Karofsky turned the corner. Kurt groaned, and noticed that the bigger boy had forced a sneer when their eyes met.

_"Here comes the bride, all _fat_ and wide,"_ Karofsky sang, and Kurt's jaw dropped. Karofsky passed Kurt, but he stopped walking when he could tell that Kurt had stopped walking first. He didn't hear the designer boots anymore. He turned around and smirked at Kurt. "What's the matter, prude?"

"What did you just say?" Kurt asked, his hands shaking with rage.

"I said 'What's the matter, prude?' You got a problem with that?"

"What did you say _before_ that?" Kurt snapped.

"You heard what I said," Karofsky scoffed. Someone in the distance was whistling a tune. They weren't too far away. _Great,_ Kurt thought to himself sarcastically. _I need to talk to him in private._

"Karofsky: you, me. Janitor's closet. Now," Kurt demanded in an icy tone.

"Oooh." Karofsky pretended just to be making fun of Kurt, but he really was aroused by the demand. "What are you gonna do to me in there? Try to touch my junk?"

"In your dreams, ham hock," Kurt hissed, grabbing the doorknob of the janitor's closet and opening it quickly. "Now get in there or someone will see us."

"Doing what?" Karofsky wanted to know, when Kurt grabbed his beefy arm and shoved him inside.

Kurt locked the door, and Karofsky moaned with pleasure. He didn't know what was going to happen to him in the closet, but he couldn't wait to find out. Unfortunately for him, Kurt only wanted to talk. Kurt whispered, "Who told you that Blaine and I are getting married?"

"What?" Karofsky rolled his eyes. "Is it supposed to be some top-secret? I found out at Breadstix. The whole restaurant watched you little fags tell each other about it. You didn't think anyone knew –?"

"You know I work at Breadstix, Dave," Kurt said in annoyance. "I see you there every night. Are you there to spy on me?" He didn't give him time to answer. "I want to make something very clear, Dave: Blaine and I are getting married. You've lost the battle –"

"I haven't lost the war," Karofsky interrupted, eyeing Kurt's hips and tight pants.

"Yes, you have," Kurt argued. "Don't you see? Why can't you just give up? It will never work between us. What happened to you? I thought we were making some progress. You came to, like, five of my PFLAG meetings, and then after Santana broke up with you, you suddenly decided to be a jerk again. Well, I'm sorry if you're a jerk just because I'm with Blaine. If you wanna blame someone, blame yourself. If it wasn't for the way you treated me, I never would have gone to spy at Dalton and met Blaine. I never would have wondered what it would be like being away from McKinley, because no one ever would have forced me to _want_ to leave. I want to thank you, Dave, for being the reason I met Blaine."

"That was not what I wanted," Karofsky growled.

"Perhaps you're not completely useless," Kurt went on.

"Why do you want to marry him?" Karofsky made a disgusted expression. "He's the first guy you ever dated. Don't you wanna see what else is out there?"

"I think _you_ should go and see what else is out there," Kurt encouraged him. "I'm not the only guy in the world, and it's never gonna work out between us, so you need to try to find someone else."

"Are you fricken kidding me?" Karofsky asked loudly. "I've got Princess Hummel locked in a closet with me, and you expect me to want to find something else? I've got everything I want right here. I'll take you right here and now!"

He lunged forward and grabbed Kurt by the hips, causing a terrified whimper to escape Kurt's mouth. He beat his fists on Karofsky's chest to fight him, but both boys went completely still when they heard whistling right outside the door. "What the hell?" a raspy voice shouted when the person tried and failed to open the door. Karofsky and Kurt exchanged terrified looks, and Kurt tried unlocking the door. Karofsky squeezed Kurt's small hand and mouthed the words, _Please don't._

Kurt smirked. "Get out of the closet, Karofsky." And the bully let him unlock the door.

Standing in front of them was the slouching figure of a filthy man with leathery skin. He looked horrified to see the two boys standing together in his closet. Especially when Dave's pants were wet and unzipped, and Kurt's clothes were wrinkled.

Karofsky laughed uncomfortably and quickly zipped his pants. "Hi, Mr. Kidney."

"Follow me," the janitor demanded, and the boys awkwardly obeyed. Karofsky groaned when Mr. Kidney entered the principal's office and whispered something to Figgins.

"I am so screwed," he whimpered. Kurt rolled his eyes and stood with his arms crossed.

Figgins had a look of disgust on his face. "Dave Karofsky. Kurt Hummel. Come here."

The two boys entered the office and sat down on two chairs. Dave glared at Kurt, who refused to look back at him. Figgins made two phone calls, and soon enough Mr. Schuester and Sue Sylvester entered the room. "Why does she have to be here?" Dave wanted to know.

"What you boys did is extremely inappropriate, and you should be expelled," Sue said in disgust. "We're phoning your parents -"

"Wait, no!" Dave begged. "My parents don't know I'm -" He stopped.

"That you're what, David?" Mr. Schue asked calmly. "Homosexual?"

"Yeah," Dave mumbled, and he started crying quietly. Kurt looked at him with pity.

"Kurt," Mr. Schue said in a soft tone of voice. He made eye contact with the boy and said seriously, "How did you wind up in that closet?"

Kurt took a deep breath and said, "It's my fault. I opened the door. I invited him in."

"Just reinforcing the stereotype that all gay boys are promiscuous." Sue shook her head.

"Don't interrupt, Sue!" Mr. Schue snapped. "Kurt, you invited him to join you?"

"Yes, isn't that what I just said?" Kurt asked, sticking his nose up self-importantly.

"Yes, but I think you're lying to me," Mr. Schue said, and then he turned his head cautiously to look at Karofsky. "Dave didn't…..?" Kurt could tell Mr. Schue didn't want to word this in front of Karofsky, but Kurt knew what his teacher had in mind. The images. Karofsky taking Kurt by surprise, covering his mouth with his hand, dragging him into the closet, locking the door, and raping him violently. Kurt shook his head. That wasn't what happened – not at _first,_ anyway.

"No, that's not at all what happened," Kurt said firmly. "As I said, it was my fault."

Mr. Schue wasn't completely convinced. "Are you sure?"

"I swear on my life," Kurt said, nodding his head. "This was not David's fault."

It was partly David's fault, but Kurt wasn't going to say that. He wasn't going to say that Karofsky wouldn't have let him leave had the janitor not gotten there in time. Mr. Schue wasn't satisfied. He still believed Kurt was lying, but he wasn't going to push it any further.

"Fine," he said, and then he turned to Dave. "I'm sorry, but we have to tell your parents." Dave shook his head pleadingly, but Mr. Schue said, "What you did was wrong."

"My parents can't know I'm gay!" Karofsky shouted hysterically. "They'll throw me out! Then all my friends will find out, and they'll beat me up!"

"There's nothing I can do about that, David," Mr. Schue sighed, shrugging his shoulders. Kurt frowned at his teacher. Did he not have any mercy? Kurt knew what it was like. He remembered the time where he was afraid that he would lose everything when he came out. Mr. Schue said, "If this is tearing you apart, you should talk to Miss Pillsbury about it."

Dave's face was flooded with tears. "Y-you c-can't d-do this to m-me. You can't."

"School rules, David," Figgins said in a harsher tone of voice than Mr. Schue had been using. "You have violated every last one of them! You know, when you had that Bully Whips thing with Santana, I almost thought there was hope for you. Now I don't think so."

"You're going to expel them, aren't you, Figgins?" Sue wanted to make sure.

"No." Figgins shook his head. "I believe that their parents knowing will be punishment enough."

"Go home, boys," Mr. Schue said tiredly, and Kurt and Karofsky stood up at the same time. Kurt waited for Karofsky to leave, after the burly boy had given him a look that said, _Thanks a lot. I hate you so much, Hummel. _Kurt sighed exhaustedly and drove over to the Lima Bean to see Blaine.

"Hey, baby." Blaine kissed Kurt on the cheek and pulled a chair out for him to sit in.

"Sorry it took me so long to get here," Kurt apologized. "I've had the most humiliating afternoon of my life."

Blaine frowned. "What happened?"

"Karofsky harassed me," Kurt sighed, rolling his eyes. "What else is new? He's mad about us getting married. He's painfully jealous of you. It's pathetic, really."

"That's definitely understandable." Blaine nodded. "How did it go?"

"The janitor found us arguing, and brought us to the principal's office. Figgins, Mr. Schue, and Sue all know Karofsky's gay now, and they're telling his parents."

Blaine's eyes widened in surprise. "Wow. It's a good thing you're graduating and getting out of the school soon."

"I figured it would happen sooner or later," Kurt shrugged. "It was bound to."

Blaine reached across the table and took Kurt's hands. They always held hands when they had lunch together. "Soon we'll be out of Ohio," he promised, "and you'll never have to see or hear from David Karofsky ever again. I brought something here for you today."

"Is it another teddy bear?" Kurt grinned. "That one you got me was real cute."

"It's actually my guitar." Blaine let go of Kurt's hand briefly to reach under the table for his instrument that had been laying there.

"Blaine…" Kurt's smirked playfully. "You're a master at piano, but I had no idea you played guitar."

Blaine blushed. "We're going to be married soon, so you'll be learning a lot about me. I just want to play a song that I wrote for you. I wrote the lyrics especially for us and our story, so please listen carefully. I mean every word of it."

Kurt nodded and propped his elbows up on the table so that he could rest his chin in his hands. He listened as Blaine began, _"I've been alone, surrounded by darkness. I've seen how heartless the world can be. I've seen you crying. You feel like it's hopeless. I'll always do my best to make you see. Baby, you're not alone, 'cause you're here with me. And nothing's ever gonna bring us down, 'cause nothing can keep me from loving you. And you know it's true. It don't matter what'll come to be. Our love is all we need to make it through. Now I know it ain't easy, but it ain't hard trying. Every time I see you smiling," _he looked lovingly into Kurt's beautiful, smiling face, _"and I feel you so close to me. And you tell me, baby, you're not alone, 'cause you're here with me. And nothing's ever gonna bring us down, 'cause nothing can keep me from loving you. And you know it's true. It don't matter what'll come to be. Our love is all we need to make it through. I still have trouble. I trip and stumble trying to make sense of things sometimes. I look for reasons, but I don't need 'em. All I need is to look in your eyes…" _He gazed dreamily into Kurt's celestial blue eyes, which were currently filled with tears of joy._ "And I realize: Baby, you're not alone, 'cause you're here with me. And nothing's ever gonna bring us down, 'cause nothing can keep me from loving you. And you know it's true. It don't matter what'll come to be. Our love is all we need to make it through, ooh. 'Cause you're here with me. And nothing's ever gonna bring us down. 'Cause nothing, nothing, nothing can keep me from loving you. And you know it's true. It don't matter what'll come to be. Our love is all we need to make it through."_

"I love you so much, Blaine," Kurt sniffed happily.

"I love you too," Blaine replied, taking his hand. "I love you so, so much."

. . . . . . . . . . . .

The Glee Club stood up on the stage to sing before graduation began. Santana stepped forward and began, _"And so we talked all night about the rest of our lives, where we're all gonna be when we turn twenty-five. I keep thinking times will never change, keep on thinking things will always be the same. But when we leave this year we won't be coming back, no more hanging out 'cause we're on a different track. And if you got something that you need to say, you better say it right now 'cause you don't have another day. 'Cause we're moving on and we can't slow down. These memories are playing like a film without sound, and I keep thinking of that night in June. I didn't know much of love, but it came too soon. And there was me and you and then we got real blue, stay at home talking on the telephone. And we would get so excited and we'd get so scared. Laughing at ourselves thinking life's not fair. And this is how it feels."_

The rest of the Glee Club joined in; Rachel now singing into the microphone, _"As we go on, we remember all the times we had together. And as our lives change from whatever, we will still be friends forever."_

Brittany took over the mic, _"So if we get the big jobs and we make the big money, when we look back now will our jokes still be funny? Will we still remember everything we learned in school? Still be trying to break every single rule. Will little brainy Bobby be the stockbroker man? Can Heather find a job that won't interfere with her tan? I keep, keep thinking that it's not good bye. Keep thinking that it's a time to fly. And this is how it feels."_

Everyone joins in again; this time with Mercedes at the mic, _"As we go on, we remember all the times we had together. And as our lives change from whatever, we will still be friends forever. La, la, la, la. Yeah, yeah, yeah. La, la, la, la. We will still be friends forever."_

Tina at the mic, _"Will we think about tomorrow like we think about now? Can we make it out there? Can we make it somehow? I guess I thought that this would never end. And suddenly it's like_ _we're women and men. Will the past be a shadow that will follow us around? Will these memories fade when I leave this town? I keep, keep thinking that it's not good bye. Keep on thinking it's a time to fly."_

Everyone joins in again; this time with Quinn at the mic, _"As we go on, we remember all the times we had together. And as our lives change from whatever, we will still be friends forever. As we go on, we remember all the times we had together. And as our lives change from whatever, we will still be friends forever."_

Finally Rachel at the mic again for the last chorus and Mercedes belting behind her_, "As we go on, we remember all the times we had together. And as our lives change from whatever, we will still be friends forever."_

Their audience cheered their approval like they did almost every time the Glee Club performed. The students of McKinley thought New Directions was geeky, but they liked hearing them sing. After a few minutes, the seniors of New Directions that were graduating ran to the dressing rooms to change into their caps and gowns. Tina and Artie, both juniors, joined Brittany and Puck in the audience with the parents of the students graduating. Neither Brittany nor Puck was graduating even though they were both juniors.

The families of the New Directions members found each other and sat together. Kurt's father Burt wrapped his arm around his wife, Finn's mother Carole. Beside them was Judy Fabray, Quinn's mother. She was dabbing at her eyes with her handkerchief and having a conversation with Rachel Berry's mother Shelby Corcoran, who was holding her adopted daughter Beth in her lap. Mike Change's parents were talking to Rachel's dads, and all of the families had fit at one big table. They were all so different, but this graduation had brought them together - just the same way that Glee Club brought New Directions together.

All of the graduating seniors waited for their names to be called so that they could walk across that stage and receive their diploma. After all the names had been called, Principal Figgins made a speech and allowed some of the other administrators to say something. The members of the Glee Club took pictures together, of themselves, of their friends, and of Mr. Schue. They promised to post them all on facebook when they got the chance. After graduation was over, they headed over to have a celebratory dinner at Breadstix.

Blaine squeezed Kurt's hand lovingly under the table. Even though they were hiding their rings right now, they were both surprised that over the last few weeks no one had noticed them. Tina was a junior so she wasn't graduating, but she still joined the rest of the group at Breadstix to be with her boyfriend Mike, who was graduating and going to Harvard soon. Rachel sat close to Finn. Brittany and Artie weren't there since neither of them graduated. Puck wasn't there, of course, but neither was Lauren. Sobbing with a group of friends over how much they were all going to miss each other wasn't exactly her idea of a good night. Quinn sat next to Santana, since Quinn didn't have a boyfriend and Santana's girlfriend wasn't there. Sam wrapped an arm around Mercedes' shoulders. Will and Emma were also there at the table.

"Are ya gonna miss us, Mr. Schue?" Mercedes asked.

"Of course I am," Will laughed. "And you guys: from now on, you're allowed to call me Will. No more of this Mr. Schue stuff. You're adults now."

"Can I call you Will?" Tina asked, even though she knew what the answer was.

"No Tina, you've got another year with me," Will chuckled.

"Oh man," Tina said with a slight smile. Mike kissed her on the cheek.

"You can also add me on facebook," Will told all of those who had graduated. "You're not my students anymore."

"Can we add Miss Pillsbury too?" Finn asked curiously.

"I guess you can start calling me Emma, and I don't have a facebook," she giggled.

"Alright guys, let's go around the table and tell every body our thoughts on the past, the present, and the future," Will suggested. "I'd like to start. I am so proud of you guys. I've watched you grow, and I like what I see. You are all amazing people. Mercedes?"

"I just want ya'all to know how much Glee Club has changed my life," Mercedes said. "Before I joined, I was invisible. Sure I was super hot and talented, but nobody knew I was alive. I was one out of, like, five black kids at this school, and everyone around me was so top forty while I was rhythm and blues. Joining Glee Club gave me a chance to be with other people that were like me. People that understood my artistry and appreciated what made me different. I don't want to imagine a life without Glee." She looked lovingly at Sam.

Everyone clapped, and Sam began, "I went to an all-boys school before I came to McKinley. I felt like an outcast my whole life because I liked movies and dying my hair in various colors to match my favorite characters'. I'd never had a girlfriend, but since I've come to McKinley, I've had three." He smiled at Mercedes and continued, "I was into sports and football and stuff so I was able to blend in if I wanted to, but Glee Club gave me the chance to share my creative side with other people. It's like Batman. Inventor/billionaire by day, superhero by night. Except I was a football athlete and dorky singer. I fit in so well here."

Everyone clapped, and Santana went next, "When I joined Glee Club, I did it to spy for Coach Sylvester. I never imagined that in a gazillion years I would ever enjoy it. I thought it was stupid and weird, just like I thought you all were stupid and weird. But then after a few weeks, I began to like it. Being on the Cheerios you're forced to be what Sue wants you to be. You have to be perky, perfect, and just like every other Cheerio on the squad. I was so focused on what Sue wanted me to be that I never really thought about what I was meant to be. Everyone was so honest with themselves in Glee Club, and so I became honest with myself, and discovered things that I never realized…" She thought about Brittany. "And… I became less of a bitch. I'm still kind of a bitch, but not completely." Everyone smiled slightly. "Thank you, Glee Club, and Will. I'm gonna miss every body." It was all she could do not to cry.

Quinn took a deep breath and began, "I'd like to start by letting you all know that I broke it off with Jesse." Everyone applauded immediately. "I dated Jesse to validate myself. I've been hurt so many times, and I didn't want to be lonely. We're here to talk about the future, but I'm terrified of it. Some of you may know that I was a loser at one point before I even joined Glee Club. My name was Lucy. I was overweight, dorky, and awkward. My parents helped me change that, who I was. They encouraged me to play sports, change my look, and my personality. And I was able to transform myself. And I was happy, knowing that I would never be that plain, chubby girl again. Sometimes I denied that I ever even was that person. That was behind me. I would never see her again. After getting pregnant and getting in Glee Club, I realized that that girl was still there. God does everything for a reason, and I suppose that I'm meant to be a loser. When we did that Born This Way assignment last year, I finally embraced that chubby girl and decided that she's always going to be a part of me. And… that doesn't bother me anymore. Thank you Glee Club, for helping me accept myself."

Everyone clapped, and Rachel decided to hug Quinn. Quinn smiled - an actual, genuine, warm smile that she'd never given Rachel before, and she hugged her back without hesitation. They were friends now. Not enemies, not acquaintances, actual friends.

"You're next, Rachel," Will said with a smile.

"Okay," Rachel said, taking a moment to clear her throat. "You all know how much I love Glee Club. I don't think I need to explain how much. I think you're all aware." Everyone smiled, and she continued, "I've always known that I want to be an actress. I was born to be on stage. Nothing feels greater than that bright spotlight shining down on me, that adrenaline rush pumping through my veins, and the sound of my adoring fans encouraging me to do an encore…" She closed her eyes dramatically to imagine it, and then kept going, "I'm going up to New York as soon as possible, and I'm auditioning for the lead role of Fanny Bryce in the revival of 'Funny Girl.' When I win the Tony, I'm going to address you all in my speech."

Everyone laughed and applauded her, and it was Finn's turn next.

"Before I joined Glee Club, I was just the guy on the football team. I'd always loved music, but I didn't really know it. Mr. Schue, or Will, has changed my life in so many ways, like Glee Club has. He forced me to join Glee Club, but I'm glad he did. If he hadn't, I wouldn't know today how much I love music. I wouldn't have met the perfect girl." He looked lovingly down at Rachel, and then said, "I wouldn't have understood or become best friends with the very best brother in the whole wide world." He grinned across the table at Kurt, who teared up at this. "Kurt's father has done so much for my mother. She was depressed for years, and when she met him, she became so happy. She's been so happy since. Two years ago Will told me something, and I remember it to this day. I was going to quit Glee Club, and he told me that that was a decision that would change my life forever. If I'd quit Glee Club, my life would be so different. And I'm so glad it's not. I'm thankful that I decided to stay. I would not be the person I am today if I'd decided to quit the best thing that ever happened to me."

Everyone clapped, and Rachel kissed Finn on the lips briefly.

"Mike, you're next," said Will.

"Hi, guys," Mike said, looking at everyone around him. "Before I joined Glee Club, I was just the guy that made good grades because I was Asian and it was something my parents always made sure I was able to do. I played football, but I was only popular because I was a follower. I did what everyone else did. I was quiet and respectful, and no one really noticed me because there wasn't really anything that stood out about me. Nothing that made me different. Before I joined Glee - basically, when Kurt brought Glee to football, I discovered that there was something special about me. I could dance. I'd danced only a few times before that in my life, and it was only ever behind my bedroom door or in front of my mirror. It wasn't until I did it out on the football team that I realized how much I needed to move, to dance. It became like a dream to me. And being a part of Glee Club made that dream a reality. Being in Glee Club helped me find what I loved." He hugged Tina tightly. "And I am so grateful for that."

Everyone clapped, and Will said, "Kurt, I believe all we have left is you."

Kurt wiped a tear from his eyes, made an adorable sound that was a cross between a sniff and a squeal, and smiled brightly at everyone. Blaine lifted a hand to rub his boyfriend's back lovingly, and Kurt began, "It's just amazing hearing some of you say how I was able to change your lives, like Finn and Mike, because all of you have changed my life. Before I joined Glee Club, I wasn't proud of who I was. I hadn't come out to anyone. I didn't tell anyone that I was gay, although it was pretty obvious, I must admit. I denied it. I called myself 'preppy.' I was fashionable, but I wasn't 'gay.' The first person I ever told was Mercedes, and even though I was completely shocked that I had allowed the words to leave my mouth, I felt as though a gigantic weight had been lifted. That was because Mercedes didn't mind. She was willing to be my friend after I was different. And seeing that she'd accepted me for who I was, I decided to try and find out if other people would be alright with it too. So I told my dad, and after he accepted me, I became proud of my sexuality. I was out and proud, and I'm sure that everyone liked me better once I was honest with them and myself. I liked myself better. And if I hadn't been honest with myself and felt free to be who I was, maybe I wouldn't have been bullied as much. But I never would have made such an impact on all of your lives. And I never would have spied at Dalton, and I never would have met Blaine."

Blaine's beautiful hazel eyes were filled with tears as he gazed lovingly into the glasz/blue eyes of his beautiful, beautiful boyfriend. Everyone took hands and Will began to speak, "We don't know where our lives are gonna take us," he said, and he smiled at Emma, who blushed back at him. "But we do know that we're never going to forget each other. If you ever feel afraid in your life at any time in your future, I want you to think about Glee Club. I want you to think about all of the people that care so, so, so much about you. You've all impacted my life in so many ways. Every single last one of you. And I love you all, and I will never forget you. I'm glad that I decided to stay here and teach rather than perform on Broadway. It's like what Finn talked about: one decision can change your entire life. And I believe that my decision changed my life for the better. All my life I thought that Broadway was my dream, but fate had other plans. Glee Club is what I was meant for. Teaching you guys is what got me out of a horrible marriage, made me find my true love in life, opened my eyes to so many things that I would have looked right past, years ago. Thank you, guys. We've been through lots of hard times, but they were always worth it. You were all worth it."

New Directions toasted to the past, the present, and the future, and then after dinner, it was time for them all to part. Mike and Tina left together, Santana and Quinn by themselves, Mercedes and Sam together, and Kurt and Blaine with Finn and Rachel. Will left Breadstix with Emma. The two of them wrapped their arms around each other and kissed passionately on the lips before heading over to Will's car.

"Sorry I'm crying so much," Will apologized, wiping away a few tears before starting the car. He chuckled embarrassedly, his face a bright red. "It's just a really emotional night."

Emma smiled kindly. "I've never loved you so much."

A feeling of warmth, love, and family rushed over Will. He thought back to before Glee Club. He thought about times when he had cried while being married to Terri. He remembered his ex-wife telling him to man-up, and that he looked pitiful and disgusting. He remembered how Terri would complain about everything he did and about how she would boss him around and not only emasculate him emotionally, but make him feel worthless. And at that moment Will thanked God that Terri hadn't gotten pregnant, or he would have been stuck with her for the rest of his life. During the first few years of their marriage, Will believed that he had loved Terri. Now he knew that that love had been nothing but a mirage. Being here with Emma - sweet, kind, angelic, innocent Emma made him see that. She opened his eyes.

Emma wouldn't judge Will or tear him down for everything he wasn't the way Terri did. Emma was also imperfect. It was better that way. Will and Emma were both losers, but they'd finally found it in themselves to be proud of being losers. They loved themselves and each other for it. At that moment Will saw, really, how much Glee had changed his life, in every way, shape, and form. And after Will and Emma got married with all of New Directions there watching, Will and Emma would start a family. They would name their children after the members of New Directions. Emma could already see it: their sons Noah Kurt Schuester, Michael Finn Schuester, and their daughter Rachel Quinn Schuester. It reminded her of how in the Harry Potter books Harry and Ginny wound up naming their children after the wizards and witches that had changed their lives.

"I love you too, so much, Emma," Will said, pulling out of the parking lot.

"I love you more than anything in this world," Emma replied, tears of joy filling her eyes. "I have a good feeling about next year, Will."

. . . . . . . . . . . .

**Author's Note: Alright, so that was the final chapter! I wrote this fic way before I knew that Blaine would attend McKinley or that Sam wouldn't for season three, so in the future I will be writing some more Glee fics that are more relevant to the show currently. I hope you enjoyed what I predicted season three would be like months ago. It's very interesting to see how wrong I was, lol. I will be writing more Glee fics in the future! I will be working on "TwiLight It Up!" often, but I won't be able to update every week because of school, homework, and such. But I will update as often as I can. Bye! **


	13. Soundtrack

**Just a fun little thing I thought I would add at the end! I'm gonna put these at the end of all my Glee fics.**

** . . . . . . . . . . . . **

**Senior Year Soundtrack **

**The Songs That Are Featured In This Fanfic**

**Song** **Original Artist** **Who Sang It In This Story**

1. "All The Right Moves" By OneRepublic: Bryce Dawkins (OC)

2. "Love Song" By Sara Bareilles: Riley Brown (OC)

3. "Dancing Crazy" By Miranda Cosgrove: Tristan Boone (OC)

4. "A Thousand Miles" By Vanessa Carlton: Alyssa Moore (OC)

5. "DJ's Got Us Falling In Love Again" By Usher: Trey Jordan (OC)

6. "Stay Beautiful" By TheLastGoodnight: Mercedes Jones

7. "Grenade" By Bruno Mars: Bryce Dawkins (OC)

8. "Let It Snow" By Vaughn Monroe: Blaine Anderson and Alyssa Moore (OC)

9. "All The Things She Said" By t.A.T.u: Santana Lopez and Brittany Pierce

10. "Born This Way" By Lady Gaga: New Directions

11. "Light Up The World" By New Directions: New Directions

12. "Not Alone" By Darren Criss: Blaine Anderson

13. "Friends Forever" By Vitamin C: New Directions


End file.
